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SPARE    MINUTE     SERIES. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT 


FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THEODORE  L.  CUTLER,  D.D. 


SELECTED  BY 

MARY   STORRS    HAYNES 


WITH  AN   INTRODUCTION   BY 

REV.  NEWMAN   HALL,  LL.  B. 

of  Christ  Church,  Surrey,  London 


BOSTON 
D.  LOTHROP  AND  COMPANY 

32  FRANKLIN  STREET 


COPYRIGHT,  1884. 
D.  LOTHROP  &  COMPANY. 


INTRODUCTION. 

PREFACE-WRITING  is  an  art  in  which  I  have  had  no  experi- 
ence ;  and  there  is  an  especial  difficulty  when  the  ardors  of 
personal  friendship  render  almost  impossible  that  judicial 
style  that  should  mark  an  Introduction  to  the  reader.  In  this 
case  the  author  is  less  vividly  before  me  than  the  intimate 
friend  who  welcomed  me  to  his  home  and  pulpit,  on  my  first 
vrsit  to  America  —  with  whom  I  have  rambled  among  the 
ruins  of  Rome,  and  the  historic  scenes  of  rural  England — 
beside  whom  I  have  sat  at  many  religious  and  reformatory 
meetings,  and  sometimes  with  those  who  vindicated  the 
cause  of  American  unity  and  freedom  in  the  dark  days  of  the 
civil  conflict. 

No  clergyman  from  the  United  States  has  been  more 
cordially  received  in  the  pulpits  of  London  or  on  the  platform 
of  Exeter  Hall ;  and  none  has  reached  a  wider  circle  of  read- 
ers in  Great  Britain  during  the  last  five  and  twenty  years. 
His  face  greets  me  every  morning  in  my  study,  with  its 
honest,  eager  look,  and  his  letters,  so  vivid  and  picturesque, 
have  bridged  the  Atlantic  for  me  almost  every  week. 

Familiar  as  Doctor  Cuyler  may  be  to  his  own  countrymen 

as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  or  the  active  laborer  in  moral 

reform,  it  is  chiefly  from  the  productions  of  his  busy  pen  that 

he  is  known  on  this  side  of  the  sea.     These  have  travelled 

3 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

wherever  our  mother-tongue  is  spoken,  and  have  been  trans- 
lated into  several  foreign  languages.  A  single  journal  in 
London  has  re-issued  many  millions  of  copies  of  his  racy  and 
forcible  articles.  When  I  open  a  copy  of  the  New  York 
Independent  or  Evangelist,  I  always  look  first  to  find  some 
article  which  bears  the  image  and  superscription  of  my 
friend.  He  is  a  master  of  strong  Saxon  English ;  his  sen- 
tences require  no  second  reading  to  be  understood ;  he  pro- 
duces a  graphic  picture  by  a  few  touches;  old  truths  are 
made  fresh  and  attractive  by  a  new  dress.  The  religion 
taught  by  prophets  and  apostles  is  adapted  to  our  times 
and  presented  as  the  religion  for  all  conditions  and  classes  — 
for  the  drawing-room,  the  nursery  arid  the  kitchen,  for  the 
college  and  the  workshop,  for  the  Senate  chamber  and  the 
store,  as  well  as  for  churches  and  prayer-meetings.  He 
makes  his  reader  feel  that  gospel  truth  is  not  a  mere  theory, 
but  a  practical  reality  for  the  use  of  every  day  life. 

My  witty  but  devout  predecessor,  Rev.  Roland  Hill,  said 
that  he  liked  jaculatory  prayer  because  "  it  flew  up  to  Heaven 
before  the  Devil  could  get  a  shot  at  it."  In  like  manner, 
Doctor  Cuyler's  papers  are  so  brief  and  pithy,  so  pungent  and 
forceful  that  their  lessons  reach  the  conscience  before  the  eye 
is  weary  or  is  drawn  off  by  less  weighty  or  important  matter. 
His  articles  in  publication,  avowedly  semi-secular,  are  a  set 
off  to  many  which  appear  in  professedly  religious  journals, 
and  yet  are  scarcely  profitable  for  Sabbath  reading.  Every 
production  from  his  pen  is  brimful  of  pure  gospel ;  and 
rarely  are  they  lacking  in  words  of  help  to  the  weak  and  the 
weary,  and  in  good  cheer  to  the  troubled  and  the  suffering. 

He  has  been  himself  in  the  college  of  sorrow,  and  has  been 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

trained  there  to  become  eminently  a  minister  of  consolation. 
The  death  of  a  beloved  boy,  of  nearly  five  years  of  age,  called 
forth  his  well-known  Empty  Crib,  which  Dean  Stanley  said  he 
had  read  with  tears,  to  his  own  family ,  by  his  fireside.  The 
subsequent  loss  of  a  beautiful  and  accomplished  daughter 
was  the  occasion  of  his  writing  God's  Light  on  Dark  Clouds 
—  a  volume  which  is  now  having  a  wide  circulation  in  this 
country.  As  he  has  truly  said,  "  There  are  many  of  the  deep- 
est lessons  of  life  that  can  only  be  read  by  eyes  cleansed  with 
tears,"  and,  "  if  Jesus  does  not  come  in  visible  form  to  our 
Bethanys,  he  oftentimes  sends  thither  his  servants  and  hand- 
maids with  the  warm  words  of  condolence." 

Such  articles  as  Doctor  Cuyler's  are  too  precious  to  perish 
with  the  periodicals  they  have  enriched.  Some  of  them  are 
already  gathered  into  volumes  widely  popular  on  this  side  of 
the  water.  A  carefully  selected  volume,  like  the  present  one, 
will  be  a  valuable  addition  to  Christian  literature.  Few  peo- 
ple, nowadays,  have  the  time  or  the  taste  for  large  treatises  on 
theology.  We  live  in  a  hurry.  The  daily  papers  beget  a 
habit  of  rapid  and  desultory  reading.  Leading  articles  save 
the  trouble  of  independent  research,  and  portray  before  us 
the  gist  of  current  topics.  God  be  praised  that  there  are 
men  who  can  do  this  in  the  interests  of  practical  godliness  ! 
Sermons  abound.  Many  persons  regard  a  large  portion  of 
them  as  dull  to  listen  to,  and  still  duller  in  the  reading. 
But  Doctor  Cuyler's  papers  are  not  sermons.  There  is  no 
tedious  exordium,  no  prolix  explanations  or  ponderous  proofs. 
He  is  not  like  a  man  who  detains  a  friend  on  the  pavement 
by  the  button-hole,  on  a  cold  day,  until  he  is  utterly  bored 
before  the  speaker  comes  to  the  point.  Rather  does  he 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

accost  him  as  he  hurries  along,  and  utters  his  brief  message 
in  tones  so  clear,  kind,  and  emphatic,  that  before  the  man  is 
aware,  the  speaker  has  vanished,  and  yet  has  left  behind 
truths  worthy  to  be  pondered  and  practised.  Without  any 
unseemly  intrusion  or  any  waste  of  time,  words  have  been 
fitly  spoken  which  are  like  apples  of  gold  in  baskets  of  silver. 
The  editor  of  this  volume  has  made  a  wide  range  of  selec- 
tions, but  all  of  them  characteristic  of  their  author.  In  an 
age  of  multiplied  books,  there  is  still  room  for  another  from 
the  pen  of  my  beloved  brother ;  and  my  fervent  prayer  is  that 
it  may  prove  to  be  a  new  ministry  of  helpfulness,  guidance 
and  cheer  to  multitudes. 

REV.  NEWMAN  HALL,  LL.  B. 
CHRIST  CHURCH,  Westminster  Bridge  Road, 
London,  January,  1883. 


THEODORE  LEDYARD  CUYLER. 

THEODORE  LEDYARD  CUYLER  was  born  at 
Aurora,  on  the  Cayuga  Lake,  N.  Y.,  January 
10,  1822.  His  father,  B.  Ledyard  Cuyler,  was  a  law- 
yer of  brilliant  promise,  who  died  when  his  only  son 
was  four  years  old ;  the  venerable  mother  still  sur- 
vives. His  ancestry  were  from  Holland  on  the  one  side, 
and  from  the  Huguenots  on  the  other.  Young  Cuyler 
graduated  at  Princeton  College  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
and  spent  several  months  in  Great  Britain,  visiting 
favorite  authors  and  seeking  out  historic  haunts.  Re- 
jecting strong  temptations,  both  to  the  bar  and  to  the 
pursuits  of  literature,  he  entered  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  April,  1846. 
After  three  years  of  service  at  Burlington,  N.  J.,  he 
became  the  first  pastor  of  a  new  Presbyterian  Church 
at  Trenton,  which  proved  very  successful.  Called  to 
New  York  City  in  1853  —  immediately  after  his  mar- 
riage to  Miss  Annie  E.  Matthiot  of  Ohio — he  was 
installed  over  the  Market  Street  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  and  soon  became  one  of  the  most  popular 
preachers  to  young  men  in  the  great  metropolis.  Every 
week  he  appeared  on  the  platform  of  public  meetings 
in  the  advocacy  of  various  enterprises  and  moral  reforms. 

7 


8        THEODORE  LEDYARD  CUTLER. 

His  favorite  movement,  for  the  promotion  of  temper- 
ance, he  defended  before  legislative  bodies  and  popular 
assemblies,  and  has  always  given  to  it  the  aid  of  his 
vigorous  pen.  Doctor  Cuyler  has  one  of  the  indispen- 
sable elements  for  success  —  a  great  faculty  for  hard 
work.  Few  men  are  as  unwearied  and  as  unwearible  as 
he.  In  1860,  a  newly  organized  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Brooklyn  invited  him  to  become  its  first  pastor.  He 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  the  spacious  Lafayette 
Avenue  Church  edifice  was  reared  —  which  has  been 
the  scene  of  his  pulpit  labors  for  three  and  twenty 
years.  He  soon  built  up,  by  his  untiring  zeal,  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  powerful  churches  in  his  denomi- 
nation. Incessant  pastoral  visitation  during  the  week 
has  never  prevented  him  from  studious  and  careful 
preparation  for  his  pulpit ;  he  once  informed  the  writer 
that  he  had  "  never  lost  but  two  Sabbaths  from  sickness 
during  his  whole  life." 

A  small,  spare  man,  of  thin,  sallow  countenance,  with 
dark  hair  and  eyes,  and  a  full  oratorical  mouth —  attired 
in  a  pulpit  robe  —  he  stands  before  his  audience,  with 
no  attempts  at  the  "  sensational "  in  style  or  deliv- 
ery. His  voice  is  versatile  and  commanding;  some- 
times low  and  melodious  as  a  flute,  it  often  swells  into  a 
volume  which  sweeps  and  sways  the  largest  assemblies. 
On  this  flexible  instrument  his  feelings  have  full  play. 
Striking,  but  simple  declarations  of  Bible-truth — lucid 
statements  as  the  strongest  form  of  argument  —  a  rare 
art  of  putting  things,  a  heartfelt  tone  of  sympathy, 
delicate  felicities  of  expression,  all  are  infused  with 
a  solemn  sincerity  which  is  the  evident  atmosphere  in 
which  his  soul  lives,  moves,  and  has  its  being.  "I 


THEODORE  LED  YARD  CUTLER.  9 

believe,  therefore  have  I  spoken,"  is  written  on  every 
feature  and  every  tone. 

No  shadow  of  doubt  as  to  the  plenary  inspiration  of 
God's  word,  or  as  to  the  truth  of  the  evangelical  doc- 
trines, has  ever  disturbed  him ;  the  positiveness  of  his 
faith  and  utterances  has  ever  been  an  element  of  his 
power  as  a  religious  teacher.  The  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  to  him  always  and  everywhere  not  only  much, 
but  everything.  Yet  this  stanch  orthodoxy  has  never 
interfered  with  a  wide  Christian  catholicity.  "Out  of 
the  eater  came  forth  meat,  and  out  of  the  strong  came 
forth  sweetness,"  when  an  "  Old  School"  Presbyterian 
Seminary  gave  its  pulpit  commission  to  Theodore  L. 
Cuyler. 

Although  so  indefatigably  devoted  to  the  interests 
of  his  own  flock,  he  has  become  most  widely  known  by 
his  immensely  numerous  contributions  to  the  leading 
religious  journals.  The  late  Bishop  Haven  pronounced 
him  "the  most  popular  writer  on  experimental  religion 
in  America." 

His  fixed  rule  has  been  for  thirty  years,  never  to 
allow  a  week  to  pass  without  the  preparation  of  one  or 
more  articles  for  the  press.  He  has  contributed  about 
one  thousand  articles  to  the  New  York  Evangelist,  four 
hundred  and  twenty  to  the  Independent,  and  many  hun- 
dreds more  have  been  scattered  through  the  columns  of 
the  Presbyterian,  the  Congregationalist,  the  Christian  at 
Work,  the  Chicago  Advance,  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  the 
Ilh4strated  Weekly,  Sunday  School  Times,  National  Tem- 
perance Advocate,  and  several  other  influential  journals. 
Many  of  these  contributions  have  been  re-published  in 
London  and  Edinburgh,  and  thence  have  passed  by 


10  THEODORE  LED  YARD  CUTLER. 

translation  into  various  languages  over  the  continent. 
A  handsome  volume  of  selections  has  appeared  in 
Dutch. 

Doctor  Cuyler  has  achieved  that  difficult  newspaper 
feat,  a  thoroughly  readable  religious  article — achieved 
it  by  a  full  heart,  a  full  head,  and  a.Je  ne  sais  quoi,  that 
certain  something  which — call  it  talent  or  genius  — 
enables  its  possessor  to  say  his  say  with  an  aptness  of 
expression  that  gives  enjoyment  and  edification  to  every 
reader. 

President  Lincoln  once  said  to  him,  "  I  used  to 
keep  up  with  you  every  week  in  the  Independent."  And 
in  frontier  settlements  his  pithy  pieces  are  read  aloud 
in  devotional  meetings.  This  happy  faculty  of  adapta- 
tion, with  tongue  or  pen,  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men,  received  a  good  illustration  when  the  venerable 
Washington  Irving,  after  hearing  him  address  a  com- 
pany of  children,  came  up  and  whispered  in  his  ear, 
"  My  friend,  I  would  like  to  be  one  of  your  parishioners." 

During  the  heats  of  midsummer  no  object  is  more 
familiar  to  the  visitors  in  Congress  Park,  Saratoga,  than 
the  slight,  wiry  figure  of  the  pastor  of  the  Lafayette 
Avenue  Church;  the  same  man  who  is  read  by  sailors 
and  frontier  settlers  has  preached  over  one  hundred 
of  his  practical  discourses  to  thronged  auditories  in  that 
cosmopolitan  centre  of  summer  resort. 

The  principal  volumes  which  Doctor  Cuyler  has  pub- 
lished are  his  Heart  Life,  the  Empty  Crib,  the  Cedar 
Christian,  Pointed  Papers  for  the  Christian  Life,  Thought 
/fives,  and  God's  Light  on  Dark  Clouds.  These  have 
all  been  printed  in  England.  He  has  also  published  a 
sketch-book  of  travel,  From  the  Nile  to  Norway,  and  a 


THEODORE  LEDYAED  CUYLEE.  11 

great  number  of  tracts  on  various  topics.  One  of 
these  —  "  Somebody's  Son  "  —  directed  against  the  cus- 
tom of  offering  intoxicants  to  young  men  on  New  Year's 
day,  has  been  effective  in  clearing  the  decanters  from 
not  a  few  hospitable  tables. 

From  these  various  sources  —  of  volume,  tract,  or 
periodical  publications  —  the  following  selections  have 
been  made.  They  all  reveal,  in  greater  or  less  degree, 
the  same  qualities  of  incisive  directness,  of  graphic 
portraiture,  of  genial  sympathy,  of  keen  observation, 
of  human  nature  and  of  honest  loyalty  to  the  inspired 
teachings  of  the  Book  of  Books.  M.  S.  H. 


RIGHT   TO   THE    POINT. 


I. 


EVERY  human  mind  we  meet  is  a  moving 
thought-hive.  To  our  eye  it  is  hidden,  but 
to  the  eye  of  God  it  is  a  hive  of  transparent  glass. 
The  thoughts  which  nestle  within  us,  and  issue 
from  us  in  language  and  in  act  determine  our  moral 
character.  The  most  exquisite  piece  of  sculpture 
which  a  Powers  or  a  Palmer  ever  carved,  was  once 
only  a  thought ;  but  their  skilful  hands  smote  the 
white  marble  until  the  beautiful  images  of  the  brain 
came  forth.  Upon  the  thought  of  James  Watt  and 
Robert  Fulton  we  cross  the  trackless  sea ;  while 
in  its  silent  depths  the  thought  of  Professor  Morse 
has  laid  the  magic  wire  over  which  two  continents 
converse. 

All  the  grandest  enterprises  of  benevolence,  and 
all  the  most  stupendous  crimes,  were  once  only 
invisible  phantoms  in  some  man's  or  woman's  busy 
brain.  The  order  of  the  Jesuits  swarmed  out 
of  Ignatius  Loyola's  heart-hive ;  Sunday-schools 

13 


14  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

swarmed  out  of  Robert  Raikes.'  If  the  jailer  of 
Bedford  prison  had  starved  John  Bunyan,  he  would 
have  smothered  the  Pilgrim  s  Progress  in  its 
cradle.  The  very  Bible  is  only  God's  blessed  and 
holy  thought  revealed  to  us ;  by  it  we  are  made 
•vise  unto  salvation. 


II. 


A  noble  career  depends  on  the  treatment  given 
to  the  infant  ideas  that  are  born  in  the  soul.  A 
person  is  known  by  the  company  he  keeps.  So 
the  thoughts  which  we  harbor  within  us,  and 
which  go  out  through  the  doors  of  our  mouths  and 
our  hands,  determine  our  real  character. 

One  of  the  highest  of  spiritual .  luxuries  is  the 
enjoyment  of  pure  and  exhilarating  and  sublime 
thoughts;  to  such  a  devout  and  cheerful  thinker  a 
prison  may  be  a  palace.  "I  thought  of  Jesus," 
said  holy  Rutherford,  "  until  every  stone  in  the 
walls  of  my  cell  shone  like  a  ruby." 


III. 


No  more  decisive  influence  can  be  brought  to 
bear  upon  any  age,  or  any  community,  than  the 
employment  of  its  highest  intellect  for  truth  or  for 
error  —  for  God  and  the  right,  or  for  the  devil's 
wrong.  Intellect  ennobled,  purified,  heaven-directed, 
is  the  universal  power  to  build  up.  Intellect  per- 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  15 

verted,  corrupted,  sin-directed,  is  the  most  terrible 
of  agencies  to  pull  down  and  destroy.  "  How 
shall  I  use  my  intellect  ?"  is  the  most  vital  moral 
problem  that  can  come  before  the  court  of  your 

conscience 

God  never  gave  to  man  fine  intellectual  powers, 
vigorous  understanding,  strong-winged  imagina- 
tion, cunning  invention,  or  soul-rousing  eloquence, 
for  the  owner's  sole  use  and  benefit.  Talent 
is  trust.  Let  no  man  covet  it  unless  there  comes 
with  it  wisdom  from  above  to  insure  it  a  right 
direction. 


IV. 


Some  men  hold  that  talents  are  given  for  the 
same  purpose  that  wealth  is  often  inherited  —  for 
mere  personal  luxury.  There  be  intellectual  mil- 
lionnaires  who  decorate  their  mind,  as  a  palace,  for 
pride  to  walk  through.  Its  superb  picture  galleries, 
whose  walls  a  creative  imagination  has  clothed  with 
visions  of  entrancing  beauty  ;  its  saloons  of  recep- 
tiveness,  in  which  stately  thoughts  do  come  and  go ; 
its  costly  libraries,  where  memory  stores  up  its 
massive  accumulation,  shelf  on  shelf;  its  statue- 
lined  corridors  and  halls  —  are  but  the  splendid 
realm  which  self  has  adorned  by  the  "might  of  its 
own  power,  and  for  the  honor  of  its  own  majesty." 
Scarcely  a  living  being  is  the  wiser,  the  better,  the 
happier,  for  such  mental  monopolists.  They  stand 


16  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

in  the  midst  of  humanity  as  the  marble  mansion  of 
a  selfish  duke  might  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  poverty- 
cursed  and  squalid  peasantry.  While  the  nabob  is 
gorging  at  his  rosewood  table,  or  lounging  before 
his  Murillos,  the  poor  Lazarus  without  is  begging 
crumbs  for  the  lean  and  hungry  brats  such  as 
Murillo  portrayed  upon  his  canvas.  One  man  sur- 
feits, the  others  starve.  There  is  enough  for  all,  if 
it  were  distributed.  Distribution  is  Heaven's  law, 
whether  the  treasures  be  in  the  lordly  mansion  or 
in  the  lordly  mind. 

The  meanest  of  misers  is  he  who  hoards  a  truth. 


V. 


All  the  men  and  women  who  have  made  their 
mark  in  this  world  and  have  achieved  the  best 
results,  have  kept  the  eye  clear  and  single  toward 
one  noble  purpose.  The  master  passion  with  New- 
ton, the  prince  of  Christian  philosophers,  was 
science.  He  attributed  his  splendid  successes  in 
discovery  to  the  simple  principle  of  "  always  intend- 
ing my  mind,"  upon  the  one  thing  in  hand.  Luther 
jarred  all  Europe  by  continually  hurling  the  great 
revealed  truth  of  "justification  by  faith"  against 
its  old  ramparts  of  superstition.  Such  men  swing 
their  whole  being  into  one  direction.  The  effective 
Christian  is  the  man  who  unites  all  his  powers  into 
a  single  pile  or  package,  and  then  binds  them  round 
with  this  strong  cord  —  "the  love  of  Christ  con- 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  17 

straineth  me."     So  Paul  bound  up  his,  and  hurled 
the  mass  with  such  momentum  that  it  burst  through 
and  has  come  bounding  on  even  into  these  modern 
centuries.         ....... 

.  All  human  talents  and  possessions  are 
but  ciphers  until  you  put  the  name  of  Jesus  at  the 
head  of  them.  Then  they  make  their  owner  a 
millionnaire  for  Heaven. 


VI. 


One  student  uses  his  brain,  as  he  uses  his  mid- 
night lamp  —  merely  to  illuminate  the  page  before 
his  single  eye.  Another  man  makes  his  intellect 
a  meridian  sun  !  How  bountifully  does  the  full  urn 
of  noonday  overflow !  Not  only  on  Alpine  peaks, 
and  the  "heart  of  the  Andes,"  kindled  into  pyra- 
mids of  fire,  but  down  into  modest  vales  the  sun- 
light falls,  warming  the  honeysuckle  o'er  the  cot- 
tage doorway,  lifting  the  tiny  wheat-blade  from  its 
earthly  tomb  ;  and,  even  when  some  solitary  daisy 
is  shaded  beneath  an  overgrown  tree,  the  generous 
sun  wheels  round  and  round,  until  before  nightfall 
the  daisy  too  is  reached,  and  fills  her  little  cup  with 
golden  light.  Such  full-orbed  intellects  there  be. 
They  turn  midnight  into  noon.  Upon  the  most 
elevated  minds  and  the  most  favored  classes  their 
rays  may  fall  earliest ;  but  at  length  the  lowliest  val- 
leys of  human  life  are  warmed  in  the  celestial  influ- 
ence. So  rose  the  tent-maker  of  Tarsus  upon  a 


18  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

benighted  age.  Amid  the  gloom  of  the  sixth  cen- 
tury shone  out  Augustine;  amid  the  prejudice  of 
the  fifteenth  beamed  Christopher  Columbus. 

The  sixteenth  century  came  in  with  clouds  and 
darkness  on  its  awful  front.  God  said,  "  Let  there 
be  light,"  and  Luther  was  !  When  his  sun  departed 
with  its  trail  of  glory,  the  moral  heavens  beamed, 
in  turn  with  Lord  Bacon,  Milton,  Isaac  Newton, 
Leibnitz,  Pascal,  Edwards,  Chalmers  —  each  an 
overflowing  orb  of  truth. 

VII. 

Learning  and  Eloquence  —  getting  the  truth 
and  giving  the  truth  —  are  the  two  most  attainable 
possessions  for  every  healthy  mind.  For  while  the 
Creator  has  bestowed  great  analytical  acumen  as 
a  gift  comparatively  rare ;  while  the  imagination 
which  can 

Glance  from  Heaven  to  Earth, 
From  Earth  to  Pleaven, 

belongs  to  a  favored  few ;  while  fertility  of  inven- 
tion is  a  monopoly  of  genius  —  yet  nearly  every 
healthy  intellect  can  acquire  truth  and  impart  it. 

VIII. 

Eloquence  is  the  golden  product  of  an  inspired 
heart  No  elaboration  of  rhetoric,  no  oratorical 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  19 

culture,  can  produce  it,  which  ignores  the  sponta- 
neous   emotions   of   an     honest,    fearless,    loving 
heart.          ........ 

.  The  loftier  the  emotion,  the  more  impres- 
sive the  utterance  of  the  orator.  The  same  law 
applies  to  eloquence  that  applies  to  hydrostatics. 
If  the  jet  is  to  be  thrown  to  a  height  in  the  public 
fountain,  the  spring  that  feeds  the  fountain  must 
have  a  lofty  birthplace  on  the  mountain-side. 

What  is  eloquence  but  truth  in  earnest  ?  The 
mind's  best  words  spoken  in  the  mind's  best 
moments.  When  truth  gets  full  possession  of  a 
man's  conscience ;  when  all  his  sensibilities  are 
aroused  and  his  sympathies  in  full  play  ;  when  the 
soul  becomes  luminous,  until  the  interior  light  and 
glow  blaze  out  through  every  loop  and  crevice ; 
when,  from  head  to  foot,  the  whole  man  becomes 
the  beaming,  burning  impersonation  of  truth  — 
then  is  he  honestly,  naturally,  irresistibly  eloquent. 
To  this  a  great  head  is  not  always  essential;  a 
great  heart  is,  and  must  be. 

IX. 

A  logical  sequence  of  the  telegraph  which 
conveys  written  words,  is  the  telephone  which 
conveys  spoken  sounds.  It  is  certainly  a  crowning 
marvel  that  a  speech  pronounced  in  Boston  should 
pronounce  itself  over  the  wires  to  an  audience  in 
Brooklyn,  and  the  Marseilles  Hymn  played  in 


20  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

New  York  should  be  audible  in  Washington.  But 
the  Creator  did  a  far  more  wonderful  thing  when 
he  made  a  human  telephone.  A  mere  thought  so 
acts  from  the  brain  upon  that  cunning  mind  instru- 
ment in  the  larynx  that  the  thought  makes  itself 
audible  in  an  instant  to  an  assembled  multitude. 
The  telephone  of  the  tongue  is  a  wonderful  instru- 
ment. Our  Lord  employed  it  speaking  as  never 
man  spake.  On  the  hillside  over  Capernaum  he 
touched  the  cords  of  that  telephone  and  the  mul- 
titude received  the  matchless  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  into  their  consciences.  Other  tongues 
have  been  taking  up  the  strain,  until  for  eighteen 
centuries  that  same  sermon  has  gone  into  myriads 
of  human  lives.  Eloquence  is  never  so  grand  and 
so  godlike  as  when  it  is  made  the  telephone  of 
saving  truth  to  immortal  and  imperilled  souls. 
When  an  intrepid  and  Heaven-inspired  man  pre- 
sents himself  before  an  assemblage  of  such  souls 
and  pours  himself  out  in  a  resistless  stream  of 
argument  made  red-hot  by  holy  emotion,  the  whole 
man  becomes  the  beaming  and  burning  imperso- 
nation of  truth ;  then  does  such  an  embassador  of 
Christ  become  to  his  listening  auditors  as  one  of 
the  "  oracles  of  God." 

Paul  pleading  before  Athenian  skeptics  on  the 
Hill  of  Mars ;  Martin  Luther  sounding  his  bugle 
blast  of  defiance  before  the  Imperial  Diet ;  George 
Whitefield  depicting  the  perils  of  a  lost  sinner  on 
the  verge  of  the  precipice  of  Hell,  until  Lord 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  21 

Chesterfield  exclaimed,  "  Good  God !  the  man  is 
gone  !  "  Charles  G.  Finney  reasoning  of  righteous- 
ness and  the  judgment  to  come  until  proud  scoffers 
turned  pale  as  marble  before  his  pulpit  —  all  these 
men  became  as  electric  batteries  charged  with 
"  the  power  from  on  high" — and  delivering  men 
from  the  paralysis  of  spiritual  death  into  the  mar- 
vellous light  and  the  life  everlasting.  There  is  not 
•  a  grander  spectacle  for  angels'  eyes  than  fearless, 
single-hearted  Moody  sounding  his  telephone  in 
the  focus  of  cultured  Boston,  until  ten  thousand 
hearts  vibrate  to  his  heaven-sent  message. 

Some  people  regard  the  Word  of  God  as  a  mere 
miscellaneous  collection  of  disjointed  fragments. 
They  could  not  make  a  greater  mistake.  The 
Bible  is  as  thoroughly  connected  and  consecutive  a 
work  as  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim,"  or  Bancroft's  His- 
tory. The  whole  composition  hangs  together  like 
a  fleece  of  wool.  It  begins  with  the  creation  of 
the  world ;  it  ends  with  the  winding-up  of  all  earthly 
things  and  the  opening  scenes  of  the  endless  here- 
after. The  Old  Testament  is  the  majestic  vestibule 
through  which  we  enter  the  matchless  Parthenon 
of  the  New.  It  is  mainly  the  history  of  God's 
covenant  people.  Through  all  this  history  of  nearly 
forty  centuries  are  interspersed  the  sublime  con- 
versations of  Job,  the  pithy  proverbs  of  Solomon, 
and  the  predictions  of  the  Prophets.  We  hear,  at 
their  proper  intervals,  the  timbrel  of  Miriam,  the 
harp  of  the  Psalmist,  the  plaintive  viol  of  Jeremiah, 


22  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

and  the  sonorous  trumpets  of  Isaiah  and  Habakkuk. 

Through  all  the  Old  Testament  there  flows  one 
warm  and  mighty  current — like  the  warm  river  of 
the  Gulf  Stream  through  the  Atlantic  —  setting 
towards  Jesus  Christ.  In  Genesis  he  appears  as 
the  seed  of  the  woman  that  should  bruise  the  ser- 
pent's head ;  the  smoke  of  Abel's  altar  points 
towards  him  ;  the  blood  that  stains  the  Jewish  lin- 
tels on  the  night  of  the  Exodus  is  but  a  type  of  the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world ; 
Moses  and  the  prophets  testify  of  Jesus.  Just  as 
the  rich  musical  blast  of  an  Alpine  horn  on  the 
Wengern  is  echoed  back  from  the  peaks  of  the 
Jungfrau,  so  every  verse  of  the  fifty-third  chapter 
of  Isaiah  is  echoed  in  the  New  Testament  of 
Immanuel. 

After  a  silence  of  four  hundred  years,  the  New 
Testament  begins  —  and  with  the  genealogy  of  the 
incarnate  Saviour.  The  first  four  books  are  occu- 
pied with  the  earthly  life  and  sacrificial  death  and 
resurrection  and  ascension  of  the  same  Personage. 
The  four  independent  narratives  of  the  evangelists 
—  like  the  four  walls  of  a  church  edifice —  contain 
and  enclose  the  complete  narrative  of  Christ's  life. 
Each  one  has  its  place  and  its  purpose.  Matthew 
wrote  for  the  Jews,  and  in  his  gospel  Christ  is  rep- 
resented as  a  king ;  the  book  describes  his  king- 
dom and  its  laws.  Mark  describes  his  wondrous 
deeds  as  the  man  of  action  —  the  Christ  as  a  ser- 
vant doing  his  Father's  will.  Luke  wrote  for  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  23 

Gentiles,  and  of  Jesus  as  the  Son  of  Man.  John 
occupies  his  rich  aromatic  pages  with  the  wonderful 
words  of  the  Son  of  God.  He  defines  his  special 
object  at  the  close  of  his  twentieth  chapter :  "These 
are  written  that  ye  may  believe  that  Jesus  is  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  believing  ye  might 
have  life  through  his  name." 


X. 


The  biographies  of  Jesus  are  completed,  but 
not  his  life  upon  earth.  The  next  book  carries  it 
forward.  He  still  lives  by  his  Spirit  in  the 
chosen  apostles.  The  Book  of  the  Acts  written 
by  Luke,  commences  with  these  words  — "  The 
former  treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of  all 
that  Jesus  began  to  do  and  to  teach."  This  second 
treatise  simply  continues  to  narrate  what  Christ 
does  and  teaches  through  his  apostles  and  repre- 
sentatives. It  is  devoted  to  the  founding  of  Chris- 
tian churches  in  certain  great  centres  of  influence, 
like  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Corinth  and 
Rome.  The  churches  thus  founded  must  next 
be  instructed  in  the  commandments  of  their  Lord 
and  be  indoctrinated  in  the  practical  principles  of 
holy  living.  Hence  arises  a  necessity  for  the 
Epistles.  Each  has  its  province.  The  epistle  to 
the  Romans  is  the  grand  argument  for  justifica- 
tion by  faith.  That  to  the  Galatians  treats  of 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  the  law.  The 


24  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

letter  to  the  Philippians  is  redolent  of  gratitude 
and  of  joy  in  hours  of  trouble.  Its  motto  is 
"gaudeo;  gaudete !  "  The  epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians  is  the  setting  forth  of  the  "  heavenlies ; " 
that  to  Philemon  is  the  charter  of  human  rights 
and  the  seed  of  emancipation-proclamations ;  the 
epistles  to  the  Corinthians  are  manuals  for  per- 
sonal conduct  and  the  government  of  churches. 
When  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy  and  to  Titus,  he 
furnished  manuals  for  Christian  pastors.  John's 
epistles  are  all  love-letters  —  the  effusive  sweet- 
ness of  the  heart's  honey-comb.  When  Apollos 
penned  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (as  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  he  did)  he  set  forth  the 
priestly  office  of  Jesus  and  the  blessings  of  per- 
sonal faith.  Peter  utters  the  practical  precepts 
and  warnings  that  are  needed  not  only  by  the 
dispersed  disciples,  but  by  all  disciples  to  the  end 
of  time. 

When  the  life,  the  death,  and  the  mighty  works 
and  divine  instruction  of  Christ  (by  his  apostles) 
have  been  completed,  there  bursts  upon  us  the 
magnificent  panorama  of  the  Apocalypse.  This  is 
the  book  of  sublime  mysteries.  But  through  all 
the  apparent  confusions  of  thrones  and  of  armies, 
of  thunders  and  lightnings,  of  trumpets  and  viols 
and  winged  angels,  we  can  distinctly  trace  the 
progress  of  the  final  conflict  between  King  Jesus 
and  the  Powers  of  darkness.  The  long  battle  ter- 
minates in  the  overthrow  of  Satan,  and  the  glorious 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  25 

victory  of  Him  who  wears  on  his  head  the  many 
crowns.  Then  comes  the  final  resurrection  of  the 
dead,the  general  Judgment,  the  revelation  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  prepared  for  the  endless  habitation  of  the 
redeemed.  The  Apocalypse  closes  with  its  "  seven- 
fold chorus  of  hallelujahs  and  harping  symphonies." 
Such  is  the  wondrous  volume  which  God  has 
given  to  man,  and  which  outweighs  all  the  libraries 
on  the  globe.  It  contains  many  writings ;  yet  is  it 
but  one  book.  It  has  many  writers ;  yet  it  is  all 
from  one  Author,  the  Almighty  Spirit  of  God. 
The  pure,  white,  spotless  fleece  hath  throughout  its 
connecting  fibres  ;  the  fabric  is  divine  in  its  origin, 
its  unity,  and  its  imperishable  power  and  glory. 

XI. 

In  putting  on  your  armor  don't  forget  that  the 
Sword  of  the  Spirit  is  the  Word  of  God.  Not 
content  with  merely  reading  your  Bible,  study  it. 
Instead  of  skimming  over  whole  acres  of  truth  put 
your  spade  into  the  most  practical  passages  and 
dig  deep.  Study  the  twenty-fifth  Psalm  and  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  Romans,  as  well  as  the  sublime 
eighth  chapter.  Study  the  whole  epistle  of  James. 
It  will  teach  you  how  a  Christian  ought  to  behave 
before  the  world.  As  you  get  on  further  you  may 
strike  your  hoe  and  your  mattock  down  into  the 
rich  ore-beds  of  the  Book  of  John.  Saturate  your 
heart  with  God's  Word. 


26  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

XII. 

The  real  currency  in  commerce  is  metallic  the 
broad  earth  over.  And  the  gold  and  silver  which 
make  up  the  basis  of  personal  wealth  are  the  prod- 
uct of  the  mines ;  each  glittering  coin  the  result 
of  the  miner's  hard  toil  with  sieve  or  with  mat- 
tock. Now,  the  currency  of  God's  kingdom  is 
truth  ;  and  the  Bible  is  the  ore-bed.  To  every  one 
this  mine  is  open.  He  must  be  a  blind  or  a  care- 
less miner  who  does  not  come  out  of  this  inex- 
haustible ore-bed  with  some  new  and  massive 
"  nugget "  as  the  result  of  every  hour's  research. 
Do  you  consider  every  bank  solvent  whose  vaults 
are  the  hiding-place  of  solid  bullion,  amply  suf- 
ficient to  meet  its  liabilities  ?  So  is  a  Christian 
solvent,  whose  secret  soul  is  stored  with  gospel 
principles,  all  coined  and  stamped  for  daily  use. 
Nor  should  any  Christian  ask  credit  further  than 
he  can  fully  redeem  his  promises  and  professions 
by  the  "ready  money"  of  consistent  godly  con- 
duct. 

XIII. 

The  oldest  poem  in  the  world  is  the  grandest. 
While  the  human  race  has  been  advancing  in 
science  and  art  and  literature,  it  remains  true  that 
in  sublime  and  magnificent  poetry,  the  first  stroke 
on  the  bell  struck  twelve.  The  patriarch  of  poetry 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  21 

remains  to  this  day  its  king ;  no  man  has  taken 
away  his  crown.  Long  afterwards  Homer  sang  his 
song  of  Troy,  and  Virgil  touched  the  same  historic 
chords  with  feebler  hand.  Centuries  later  the  blind 
old  Puritan  unfolded  his  visions  of  Paradise  with 
the  glittering  ranks  of  the  cherubim  in  amaranth 
and  gold.  Many-sided  Shakespeare,  too,  came 
into  Britain  in  a  sort  of  stealthy  way,  burying  up 
his  tracks  in  mystery  so  that  some  scholars  have 
even  doubted  his  existence,  yet  leaving  behind 
him  his  wonderful  progeny  of  Hamlets,  Macbeths, 
and  Othellos.  But  all  the  sublimities  of  Homer, 
Virgil,  Milton  and  Shakespeare  combined  do  not 
reach  the  altitude  of  that  marvellous  poem  which 
was  born  in  the  very  infancy  of  the  human 
race. 

Hundreds  of  later  poets  have  pillaged  from  its 
treasure-house  of  sublime  splendors.  Thousands 
of  Christian  ministers  have  expounded  its  the- 
ology. Orators  have  been  inspired  by  its  lofty 
imagery.  Charles  James  Fox  confessed  that  if  he 
had  ever  succeeded  in  parliamentary  eloquence,  he 
owed  his  success  to  a  diligent  study  of  this  oldest 
of  human  compositions.  It  has  had  a  hundred 
readers  where  any  other,  poetical  production  has 
had  a  single  one ;  it  is  the  delight  of  the  sage 
and  of  the  saint,  of  the  philosopher  and  the  peas- 
ant, of  old  men  and  maidens,  of  the  students  of 
nature,  and  the  student  of  things  heavenly  and 
divine. 


28  RIGHT  TO  TEE  POINT. 

Who  first  wrote  out  on  papyrus-leaves  this  won- 
derful book  —  which  is  biography,  history,  the- 
ology and  poetry  combined  in  one  —  nobody 
knows.  Some  claim  that  Moses  was  the  inspired 
compiler  of  the  work.  Others  hold  that  about  the 
time  of  the  captivity,  some  gifted  Jew  collected  it 
into  its  present  shape.  The  sceptic  school  of 
critics  declare  it  to  be  a  profound  parable  on  a 
large  scale,  or  a  sublime  myth. 

Amid  the  dim  mists  of  antiquity  which  hang 
around  its  origin  we  can  be  sure  of  a  few  facts. 
We  are  sure  that  the  hero  of  the  work  was  not  a 
native  Jew.  He  did  not  live  in  Palestine  —  but 
somewhere  on  the  vast  plateaus  that  skirt  the  river 
Euphrates.  He  was  a  sheik  or  an  emir  of  the  old 
Shemitic  race.  He  owned  vast  herds,  and  was  a 
great  lord  of  the  manor  among  the  wandering 
tribes  of  the  East.  He  and  his  three  most  inti- 
mate friends  were  familiar  with  music,  metallurgy, 
military  affairs,  and  to  some  degree  with  astron- 
omy. And  to  them  were  revealed  (by  some  mys- 
terious inspiration)  the  profoundest  thoughts  in 
regard  to  human  suffering  and  sin,  in  regard  to  the 
divine  government,  in  regard  to  those  deep  things 
of  God  which  no  human  philosophy  has  ever 
fathomed  !  Truly  this  patriarch  of  theological 
poems  stands  without  a  model  and  without  a 
successor.  Like  Melchisedeck  it  appears  without 
any  known  human  father ;  and  like  Melchisedeck 
it  has  "  no  end  of  life." 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  29 

XIV. 

The  thirteenth  chapter  of  First  Corinthians  is 
the  inspired  hymn  of  Love.  The  eleventh  chapter 
of  Hebrews  is  the  sublime  epic  of  Faith. 

XV. 

A  great  many  precious  spiritual  truths  lie  con- 
cealed under  the  out-of-the-way  passages  of  God's 
Word  —  like  Wordsworth's 

violet  'neath  a  mossy  stone  half  hidden  from  the  eye. 

XVI. 

If  a  sea-captain  is  worthless  who  is  ignorant  of 
his  chart,  a  Christian  is  ill-equipped  who  is  igno- 
rant of  God's  Word.  It  is  the  soul's  corn.  The 
more  thoroughly  it  is  ground,  and  baked,  and 
eaten,  and  digested,  the  more  you  will  grow 
thereby.  It  is  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  The  more 
it  is  scoured  the  brighter  it  shineth  ;  the  more  it  is 
wielded  the  safer  you  are  against  the  adversary. 
A  vital  need  of  the  hour  is  more  Bible 

XVII. 

The  eleventh  chapter  of  Hebrews  is  the  thrilling 
record  of  a  whole  line  of  spiritual  navigators, 
whose  anchor  of  faith  never  dragged. 


80  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

XVIII. 

Some  characters  in  the  Bible  are  painted  with  a 
single  stroke.  Enoch,  the  stanch  old  patriarch, 
who  walked  with  God  ;  Caleb  the  faithful,  who  fol- 
lowed the  Lord  fully  ;  Dorcas,  who  made  the  needle 
sacred ;  Onesiphorus,  the  model  gentleman,  who 
oft  refreshed  Paul,  and  "  was  not  ashamed  of  his 
chain  ; "  Demas,  the  deserter  from  duty  —  all  these 
and  many  others  owe  their  peculiar  immortality  to 
a  mere  line  or  two  of  Holy  Writ. 

XIX. 

The  old  Bible  truths  are  the  freshest,  after  .all. 
They  have  a  perennial  grandeur,  like  the  Alps,  at 
every  new  view  of  them ; '  they  have  a  perennial 
sweetness,  like  that  honey  which  is  set  before  you 
every  morning  on  your  Swiss  mountain  rambles. 

XX. 

God's  word  is  an  inexhaustible  jewel  bed.  What 
a  gem  of  the  first  water  is  this  beautiful  text :  "At 
evening  time  it  shall  be  light."  Like  a  many  sided 
diamond,  it  flashes  out  as  many  truths  as  it  has 
polished  sides.  As  the  diamond  has  the  quality  of 
glistening  in  dim  and  darksome  places,  so  this  pas- 
sage shines  brightly  in  seasons  of  trouble  and 
despondency. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  81 

XXI. 

Contact  with  Christ  brings  currents  of  the  divine 
power  into  our  souls,  so  that  we  can  do  all  things 
through  Christ  which  strengthened!  us.  At  the 
very  outset  of  the  spiritual  life,  this  divine  strength 
becomes  recognized.  A  Gough  or  a  Sawyer  testi- 
fies that  he  gained  his  victory  over  the  bottle  by 
the  influx  of  a  new  principle  and  a  new  power  into 
his  heart.  The  essence  of  conversion  with  them 
was  that  the  seven  devils  of  lust  for  the  cup  were 
cast  out,  and  Christ  came  in.  This  was  a  super- 
natural work,  the  very  thing  that  modern  scepticism 
hoots  at ;  but  a  Bible  which  did  not  bring  a  super- 
natural element  into  weak  and  wicked  humanity 
would  not  be  worth  the  paper  on  which  it  is  printed. 

XXII. 

Food  is  fuel  to  the  body,  repairing  what  is  burnt 
away  by  various  vital  processes.  How  can  a  soul 
be  either  fed  or  warmed  that  seldom  touches  the 
Bread  of  Life  ?  All  the  most  growing  Christians 
are  large  feeders  on  the  Word  of  God. 

What  delicious  feeding  there  is  on  the  Promises? 
The  soul  delights  itself  with  them,  as  with  marrow 
and  fatness.  There  is  no  end  of  the  honeycomb 
that  distils  from  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  John. 
We  can  feed  more  than  five  thousand,  besides  the 
women  and  children,  with  the  single  big  loaf  — 


82  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

"  This  is  the  promise  which  he  hath  promised  us, 
even  eternal  life."  There  was  a  great  wealth  of 
Christian  experience  in  the  homely  vernacular  of 
Uncle  Johnson,  the  veteran  negro,  when  he  said  to 
his  pastor,  "  I'se  t'inking  dat  if  de  crumbs  of  joy 
dat  fall  from  de  Massa's  table  in  dis  world  am  so 
good,  what  will  de  great  loaf  in  glory  be  ?  I  wants 
to  get  hold  ob  de  full  dish.  O,  massa,  ef  you  gets 
home  afore  I  do,  tell  'em  to  keep  de  table  standin,' 
for  old  Johnson  is  on  his  way,  and  is  bound  to  be 
dere." 

XXIII. 

God  means  that  every  soul  which  waits  on  him 
shall  sometimes  soar.  Not  creep  nor  grovel  in 
the  muck  of  worldliness,  or  crouch  in  bondage  to 
man  or  devils,  but  rise  above  all  these  baser  things 
into  the  atmosphere  of  heaven.  When  a  soul  binds 
itself  to  God  it  finds  wings.  Such  an  one  has 
a  citizenship  in  the  skies.  He  catches  inspiration 
from  the  Spirit.  He  rises  above  the  chilling  fogs 
of  doubt,  gains  a  wide  outlook,  is  filled  with  enno- 
bling thoughts,  and  actually  feels  that  he  is  an  heir 
to  a  celestial  inheritance.  His  soul-life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God.  What  cares  the  eagle,  as  he  bathes 
his  wing  in  the  translucent  gold  of  the  sunbeam  — 
for  all  the  turmoil,  the  smoke,  the  clouds,  or  even 
the  lightnings  that  play  far  beneath  him  ?  He  flies 
in  company  with  the  unclouded  sun.  So  a  heaven- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  33 

bound  soul,  filled  with  the  joys  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
flies  in  company  with  God.  .... 
"  They  that  wait  ou  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength.  They  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles."  There  is  a  ring  in  this  passage  like  the 
blast  of  a  bugle.  He  makes  a  very  great  mistake 
who  supposes  that  the  word  "  wait  "  implies  an 
indolent  passivity.  The  Hebrew  word  has  brawn 
and  bone  in  it;  its  signification  is  primarily  to  be 
strong  —  strong  enough  to  hold  out  underpressure. 
Thence  the  word  came  to  signify  patience  as  the 
opposite  of  discouragement  and  peevishness. 
When  a  soul  is  ready  to  do  God's  will  and  to  sub- 
mit cheerfully  to  God's  discipline,  and  to  receive 
such  fulness  of  supply  as  God  is  willing  to  bestow, 
that  soul  may  be  truly  said  to  "  wait  on  the  Lord." 
It  is  a  great  grace,  and  it  leads  to  a  great  glory. 
The  man  who  thus  waits  on  God  renews  his 
strength.  He  does  more  ;  he  receives  a  wonderful 
inspiration.  He  "  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
an  eagle."  Naturalists  tell  us  that  the  special 
power  of  the  eagle  is  in  his  wings.  He  can  fly  in 
the  teeth  of  the  gale,  and  go  out  on  long  voyag- 
ings  toward  the  clouds,  and  play  the  aeronaut  for 
hours  without  weariness.  His  "  conversation  is  in 
the  heavens."  The  sparrow  twitters  from  the 
housetop,  the  dove  is  content  to  abide  in  the 
forest,  but  the  eagles  are  children  of  the  skies  and 
playthings  of  the  storms.  Even  their  nests  are  on 
the  crags. 


84  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

XXIV. 

Nothing  tends  more  to  the  elevation  of  character 

than  to  have  a  high  ideal 

There  must  be  higher  longing,  even,  before  there 
is  any  attempt  at  higher  living.  No  artist  ever 
attains  to  eminence  who  is  perfectly  satisfied  with 
the  first  picture  he  hangs  in  an  exhibition-room. 
The  Christian  who  is  satisfied  with  himself  is  the 
very  one  over  whom  the  Spirit  grieves  and  the 
Master  is  ashamed. 

XXV. 

The  less  we  expect  from  this  world  the  better  for 
us.  The  less  we  expect  from  our  fellow-men  whether 
of  spiritual  help  or  of  inspiring  example,  the  smaller 
will  be  our  disappointment.  He  that  leans  on  his 
own  strength  leans  on  a  broken  reed.  We  are 
always  £•(?/;/£•  to  be  something  stronger,  purer,  and 
holier.  Somewhere  in  the  future  there  always 
hangs  in  the  air  a  golden  ideal  of  a  higher  life  that 
we  are  going  to  reach  ;  but  as  we  move  on  the 
dream  of  better  things  moves  on  before  us  also. 
It  is  like  the  child's  running  over  behind  the  hill  to 
catch  the  rainbow.  When  he  gets  on  the  hill-top 
the  rainbow  is  as  far  off  as  ever.  Thus  does  our 
day  dream  of  a  higher  Christian  life  keep  floating 
away  from  us;  and  we  are  left  to  realize  what  frail, 
unreliable  creatures  we  are  when  we  rest  our  expec- 
tations of  growth  and  victory  over  evil  in  ourselves. 


TO  THE  POIXT.  £5 

"  My  soul,  wait  them  only  upon  God  !     My  expecta- 
tion is  only  from  Hint." 

XXVI. 

During  our  visit  to  the  Yosemite  Valley,  we 
lodged  at  an  inn  that  fronted  a  majestic  cliff.  The 
perpendicular  wall  of  granite  towered  up  more  than 
three  thousand  feet.  Upon  one  of  the  peaks  of 
this  cliff  floated  a  white  flag.  It  was  the  first  object 
which  caught  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun.  That 
signal  flag  marks  "Eagle  Point,"  one  of  the  high- 
est observatories  which  overlooks  the  wonderful 
Yosemite.  And  that  flag  floated  both  as  a  chal- 
lenge and  a  guide  to  those  of  us  who  were  in  the 
deep  valley  beneath.  It  seemed  to  say  :  Come  up 
hither  and  ye  shall  see  wondrous  things.  Accept- 
ing the  challenge,  one  party  after  another  mounted 
their  ponies,  and  picking  their  toilsome  way  along 
the  dizzy  ledges  on  the  side  of  the  precipice,  they 
made  a  four-hours  climb  to  the  tiptop  point,  whence 
they  viewed  all  the  glories  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas. 

In  the  spiritual  life  there  is  an  "  Eagle  Point." 
It  is  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of 
God  in  Christ  Jesus.  The  divinely  inspired  com- 
mand, Seek  tliose  things  w!ucJi  are  above.  It  is  the 
divine  challenge,  invitation,  and  incentive  to  the 
higher,  purer,  holier  life.  That  signal  sends  down 
the  double  invitation  to  look  higher  and  to  live 
higher.  ........ 


33  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

No  traveller  reaches  "  Eagle  Point"  who  is  over- 
loaded with  luggage.  No  Christian  attains  to  the 
higher  life  while  he  is  overladen  with  constant 
worries  ahout  this  world,  or  while  he  is  attempting 
to  carry  his  cherished  sins  along  with  him,  or  while 
he  is  ham-strung  with  unbelief.  Repentance  is 
the  first  process. 

The  "  Eagle  Point "  that  crowns  the  Yosemitc 
brought  a  rich  reward  to  those  tough  climbers  who 
reached  its  magnificent  outlook.  From  the  coignc 
of  vantage  they  beheld  things  indescribable  and 
drank  in  new  visions  of  the  Creator's  glory. 

And  we  shall  sec  greater  things  than  these  ;  we 
shall  breathe  a  purer  atmosphere,  and  taste  more 
heavenly  joys,  and  feel  a  quicker  rush  of  spiritual 
life,  and  gain  strength  for  heavier  conflicts,  and 
get  inspiring  views  of  the  "things  that  are  here- 
after," if  we  but  break  loose  from  the  beggarly  ele- 
ments of  this  world  and  seek  the  things  that  arc 
above.  It  is  the  pierced  hand  of  our  Divine  Mas- 
ter that  waves  the  signal  to  us.  It  is  his  loving 

O  O 

voice  that  calls  us  to  "  corne  up  higher."     Heaven 
will  not  be  far  off. 

XXVII. 

The  one  hundred  and  twenty-first  Psalm  is  one 
of  the  most  soul-inspiring  in  the  whole  psalter.  It 
is  named  a  "song  of  degrees;"  that  is,  a  song  of 
ascent  leading  from  the  lower  up  to  the  higher. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  87 

Whether  this  was  originally  intended  as  a  musical 
expression  or  as  a  description  of  the  ascent  to  the 
sacred  mount  in  Jerusalem,  it  happily  describes  the 
spiritual  idea  of  the  psalm.  The  key-note  is  in 
the  first  verse.  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the 
hills,  from  whence  cometh  my  help.  My  help  is 
from  the  Lord  which  made  heaven  and  earth." 
The  grand  idea  is  that  we  must  look  higher  if  we 
would  live  higher.  We  must  have  help  from 
heaven  if  we  would  reach  heaven. 

XXVIII. 

In  the  best  sense  of  the  term  Paul  was  a  man  cf 
one  idea.  The  "hold"  of  his  intellect  was  abund- 
antly stored  with  resources  of  learning,  argument 
and  rich  mental  gifts;  but  a  single  holy  purpose 
trod  the  quarter-deck,  and  floated  its  ensign  from 
the  peak.  "  Go  a  little  deeper,"  said  a  wounded 
French  soldier  at  Austerlitz  to  the  surgeon  who 
was  probing  his  left  side  for  the  bullet — "go  a 
little  deeper,  and  you  will  find  the  Emperor."  So 
the  great  apostle  might  say;  go  a  little  deeper  —  g-o 
to  the  inmost  core  of  my  heart,  and  you  will  find 
the  crucified  Jesus.  Other  feelings  I  am  possessed 
of,  but  this  one  possesses  me.  Other  affections 
lie  near  the  surface ;  but  this  master  passion  lurks 
and  lives  in  the  inmost  centre  of  my  soul.  For 
me  to  live  is  Christ.  This  one  thing  I  do  ;  forget- 
ting those  things  which  are  behind  and  reaching 


38  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

forth  unto  those  which  arc  before,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  of  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus. 

XXIX. 

It  is  glorious  work  to  preach  for  souls.  No 
throne  has  ever  been  built  which  comes  within  ten 
leagues  of  the  pulpit,  which  proclaims  Christ  and 
the  great  salvation.  The  pulpit  is  best  filled  which 
helps  most  to  fill  heaven. 

XXX. 

One  of  the  peculiar  glories  of  Christianity  is 
that  it  presents  to  us  —  what  no  other  religion  fur- 
nishes—  a  perfect  model  for  our  daily  conduct. 
No  other  religion  can  produce  a  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
And  Christ  is  Christianity.  It  is  not  the  Gospel 
system  that  saves  us.  It  is  the  Gospel's  Redeemer. 
That  preaching  is  the  most  effective  which  most 
clearly  and  persuasively  presents  Jesus  as  the 
Divine  Saviour.  Substitute  and  Surety  ;  that  life 
is  the  most  symmetrical  and  holy  which  is  the  most 
closely  copied  after  him  as  the  divine  model. 

XXXI. 

For  the  effective  preaching  of  the  inspired  Word, 
splendid  intellectual  power  or  profound  scholarship 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  39 

are  not  essential.  Some  of  the  best  work  has  been 
wrought  by  men  of  moderate  talents  and  attain- 
ments. But  it  argues  equally  that  the  best  work 
only  can  be  wrought  by  ministers  who  are  intensely 
persuaded  of  the  plenary  inspiration  of  God's  Book 
and  are  intensely  earnest  in  preaching  its  core- 
doctrines —  ruin  by  sin,  redemption  by  Christ,  and 
regeneration  by  the  Spirit,  a  retribution  of  endless 
life  and  death  to  all  who  accept  or  reject  the 
heavenly  message.  For  one,  I  would  order  the 
door  of  admission  wide  open  to  the  ministry  on  the 
purely  intellectual  side,  but  not  one  inch  on  the 
spiritual  side.  Let  every  man  of  robust  faith  and 
robust  piety  come  in  who  feels  in  his  heart  "  Woe 
is  unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  Gospel!  "  But  let 
no  man  in  however  brilliant  his  powers,  who  is 
wavering  in  his  loyalty  to  the  Revealed  Truth,  or 
lukewarm  towards  the  sins  and  the  sufferings  of 
his  fellow-men. 

XXXII. 

There  is  one  sense  in  which  every  true  minister 
ought  to  be  broad  — broad  as  the  love  of  God,  and 
the  wants  of  perishing  humanity  ;  and  at  the  same 
time  as  narrow  as  the  straight  line  of  God's  right- 
eousness. The  fear  we  have  is  that  superior  intel- 
lectual gifts  and  scholarship  may  be  deemed  more 
essential  than  superior  spiritual  gifts  and  loyalty  to 
vital  truth.  Is  he  smart?  Is  he  in  danger  of  over- 


40  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

riding  the  more  important  question  ?  Is  he  sin- 
cere and  sound  ?  Let  no  one  falsely  charge  us 
with  lowering  the  standard  of  ministerial  qualifica- 
tion to  weak  goody  goodishness  or  even  to  the 
most  fervent  piety  without  a  corresponding  capacity 
to  achieve  results.  All  will  agree  that  the  achieve- 
ment of  spiritual  results  is  the  main  thing.  And 
the  ministry  which  is  either  flaccid  in  spiritual  fibre 
and  in  faith  in  the  corner-stone  doctrines  —  or 
frigid  in  its  heart  sympathies  with  its  fellowmen, 
is  not  likely  to  win  souls  to  Christ.  On  the  other 
hand,  experience  proves  that  an  energetic,  indom- 
itable will,  fired  with  a  holy  zeal,  has  produced  a 
rich  harvest  of  results  out  of  very  moderate  endow- 
ment of  talents.  The  gift  of  godly  mindedness  is 
the  best  gift  and  talent  for  a  minister. 

XXXIII. 

If  Christ  is  at  the  helm,  why  should  I  be  running 
about  the  deck  in  distress,  lest  the  vessel  sink  ? 
If  God  lets  you  and  me  labor  for  him  in  vain,  it 
is  his  loss  more  than  ours.  Duty  belongs  to  us, 
results  belong  to  him.  Then  let  us  work  —  and 
wait  —  and  trust  —  and  leave  our  loads  with  Jesus. 

XXXIV. 

It  is  always  a  satisfaction  to  hear  a  man  speak 
the  truth.  Christ  judges  his  servants  according  to 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  41 

what  they  have;    never  according   to  what   they 
have  not. 

To  win  even  one  soul  is  a  reward  for  a  lifetime's 
toil. 

XXXV. 

Power  to  win  souls  is  derived  from  close  living 
contact  with  the  Divine  Source  of  all  power. 
When  I  was  a  student  at  Princeton,  Professor 
Henry  had  so  constructed  a  huge  bar  of  iron,  bent 
into  the  form  of  a  horseshoe,  that  it  used  to  hang 
suspended  from  another  iron  bar  above  it.  Not 
only  did  it  hang  there,  but  it  upheld  four  thousand 
pounds  weight  attached  to  it !  That  horseshoe 
magnet  was  not  welded  or  glued  to  the  metal  above 
it ;  but  through  the  iron  wire  coiled  around  it 
there  ran  a  subtle  current  of  electricity  from  a 
galvanic  battery.  Stop  the  flow  of  the  current 
one  instant  and  the  huge  horseshoe  dropped.  So 
does  all  the  lifting  poiver  of  a  Christian  come  from 
the  currents  of  spiritual  influence  which  flow  into 
his  heart  from  the  Living  Jesus.  The  strength  of 
the  Almighty  One  enters  into  the  believer.  If 
his  connection  with  Christ' is  cut  off  in  an  instant, 
he  becomes  as  weak  as  any  other  man. 

XXXVI. 

There  are  many  ways  of  preaching  Christ's 
gospel  without  choosing  a  text  or  standing  in  a 


42  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

pulpit.  This  glorious  work  is  not  restricted  to 
any  time  or  place,  or  class  of  individuals.  A 
Wilberforce  could  proclaim  the  gospel  of  love  on 
the  platform  of  Exeter  Hall,  or  the  floor  of  Parlia- 
ment House,  though  he  never  wore  a  surplice,  and 
never  had  a  prelate's  ordaining  hand  upon  his 
honored  head.  Thomas  Cranfield  preached  to  the 
boisterous  rabble  of  Wapping,  till  in  their  delight, 
they  were  ready  to  reward  him  with  three  cheers 
for  his  thrilling  exhortation.  Hannah  Moore 
preached  Christ  in  the  drawing-room  ;  and  Eliza- 
beth Fry  in  the  prison-cell.  Harlan  Page  scat- 
tering tracts  through  a  city  workshop  ;  Nettleton 
whispering  his  solemn  words  to  weeping  souls  in 
an  inquiry-meeting;  the  Dairyman's  Daughter 
murmuring  the  name  of  Jesus  with  her  faint  dying 
voice,  and  the  Shepherd  of  Salisbury  Plain,  leaning 
on  his  crook  to  talk  about  eternity  to  a  passer-by, 
were  all  intensely  earnest  preachers  of  righteous- 
ness. The  Church  has  had  few  more  faithful 
preachers  than  Thomas  Halyburton,  and  his  most 
impressive  discourses  were  delivered  on  a  dying 
bed.  "This  is  the  best  pulpit,"  said  he,  "that 
ever  I  was  in  ;  I  am  laid  on  this  bed  for  this  very 
end  that  I  may  commend  my  Lord." 

XXXVII. 

We  pastors  too  often  forget  that  our  people  care 
very  little    about    many   of    those    abstract    and 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  43 

abstruse  points  that  awaken  a  keen  intellectual 
interest  in  our  own  minds  when  we  are  among  our 
books  and  theological  reviews.  They  come  to 
church  wearied  with  the  cares  and  worries  of  the 
week.  They  want  to  be  drawn  up  from  them- 
selves nearer  to  God.  Some  of  them  have  had  a 
sharp  sorrow  during  the  past  week,  and  long  to  be 
comforted.  Others  arc  under  sore  temptations, 
and  ought  to  be  taught  how  to  meet  them,  and 
overcome  them.  Others  are  very  near  eternity, 
and  must  soon  be  prepared  for  it ;  their  time  is 
short. 

If  every  preacher  of  the  Word  would  bear  these 
simple  facts  in  mind,  he  would  certainly  strive  to 
be  more  practical,  more  plain,  more  pungent,  and 
more  desirous  to  bring  home  thc/;/;r  Gospel  with- 
out adulteration,  to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers. 
And  if  that  sly  devil  of  self  stole  up  to  his  study- 
chair,  and  whispered  in  his  ear  the  subtle  tempta- 
tion to  aim  at  a  great  sermon,  or  a  brilliant  sermon, 
or  a  profoundly  philosophical  sermon,  he  would 
promptly  say,  "  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  !  " 

XXXVIII. 

There  are  many  passages  in  the  Word  of  God 
that  most  readers  pass  by,  as  they  would  pass 
unlighted  transparencies  in  the  street  at  night. 
If  somebody  sets  a  lamp  or  kindles  a  gas-jet  behind 
the  transparency,  its  picture  or  inscription  becomes 


44  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

luminous,  attracting  all  eyes  to  it.  One  purpose 
of  good  preaching  is  to  set  lamps  behind  neglected 
passages. 

XXXIX. 

The  aim  of  the  gospel  is  to  make  men  see  Jesus. 
It  contains  a  system  of  salvation  ;  but  it  is  not  the 
system  that  saves.  Ninety-nine  hundredths  of  out- 
congregations  believe  the  chief  proposition  of 
Christianity  as  much  as  they  believe  that  Wash- 
ington was  the  first  President  of  the  United  States. 
But  that  faith  works  no  heart-change,  delivers  no 
one  from  the  power  of  sin  and  secures  no  hope  of 
Heaven.  The  only  saving  faith  is  that  which  sees 
Jesus,  and  accepts  Jesus,  and  joins  the  soul  to 
Jesus.  It  joins  person  to  Person,  the  branch  to 
the  Vine,  the  sinner  to  the  Saviour.  If  we  fail 
in  making  our  congregations  see  Jesus,  then  is  the 
most  eloquent  preaching  a  pious  sham. 

XL. 

When  Jesus  is  presented  and  pressed  upon  a 
sinner's  acceptance,  he  must  be  presented  as  not 
only  infinitely  tender,  compassionate,  and  lovable, 
but  as  so  infinitely  holy  that  his  eyes  flash  flame 
through  everything  wrong.  The  very  bitterness  of 
his  sacrificial  sufferings  for  us  on  the  Cross  arose 
from  the  bitterness  of  the  sin  he  died  to  atone. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  45 

XLI. 

No  man  ever  preaches  God's  simple  Word  of 
life  to  even  a  handful  of  auditors  without  some 
results.  No  message  faithfully  spoken  is  left 
wholly  unblest ;  no  word  returns  to  the  divine 
Giver,  unless  it  have  at  least  imposed  a  new 
responsibility  on  the  souls  that  hear  it. 

XLII. 

The  minister  of  Christ  need  not  betake  himself 
to  the  drama  cf  Greece,  the  forum  of  Rome,  or  to 
the  mystic  retreats  of  German  philosophy  ;  he  need 
not   study  Chatham    in    the    Senate  Chamber,  or 
Erskinc  at  the  bar.     He  may  ever  be  nurturing  his 
soul  amid  those    pages   where   John    Milton   feel, 
before  those    eyes,  which    had  "  failed  with    long 
watching  for  liberty  and  law,"  beheld  the  gorgeous 
visions  of  "  Paradise."      He  may  be  ever  amid  the 
scenes  which  inspired  Bunyan   to   his   matchless 
dream,  and  taught  Jeremy  Taylor  his  hearse-like 
melodies.     The  harp  of  Israel's  minstrel  is  ever  in 
his  ear  ;  before  his  eye  moves  the  magnificent  pan- 
orama of  the  Apocalypse.     He  need  but  open  his 
soul  to  that  "oldest  choral  melody,"  the  book  of 
Job ;  if  it  used  to  inspire  Charles  James  Fox  for 
the  Parliament  house,  why  not  himself  for  the  pul- 
pit ?     Paul  is  ever  at  his  elbow  to  teach  him  trench- 
ant argument ;   John  to  teach  persuasion ;   and  a 


46  RIGHT  TO  THE  P07JVT. 

heart  of  steel  must  he  have  who  is  not  moved  to 
pathos  in  the  chamber  of  heart-stricken  David,  or 
under  the  olive-trees  of  Gethsemane.  The  Bible  is 
the  best  of  models  too,  for  it  is  always  true  to  the 
life.  It  reaches  up  to  the  loftiest,  down  to  the  low- 
liest affairs  of  existence.  The  same  divine  pencil 
that  portrayed  the  scenic  splendors  of  the  Revela- 
tions and  the  awful  tragedy  of  Golgotha,  conde- 
scends to  etch  for  us  a  Hebrew  mother  bending 
over  her  cradle  of  rushes,  a  village  maiden  bringing 
home  the  gleanings  of  the  barley  fields,  and  a  peni- 
tent woman  weeping  on  the  Saviour's  feet.  What 
God  has  ennobled,  who  shall  dare  to  call  common  ? 
What  true  orator  of  nature  will  fear  to  introduce 
into  the  pulpit  a  homely  scene  or  a  homespun 
character,  a  fireside  incident  or  a  death-bed  agony, 
the  familiar  episodes  of  the  field  and  the  shop,  the 
school-room  and  the  nursery.  He  does  not  lower 
the  dignity  of  the  pulpit ;  he  rather  imparts  to  it 
the  higher  dignity  of  human  nature. 

XLIII. 

Fainting  and  desponding  minister  of  Christ ! 
Who  shall  dare  to  tell  you,  when  you  have  come 
back  from  preaching  the  cross  boldly  and  earnestly, 
that  many  an  arrow  may  not  have  pierced  the  wait- 
ing souls  around  you  ?  You  may  not  have  seen  its 
flight.  You  may  have  heard  no  outcry  of  the 
wounded  soul.  You  may  have  seen  no  tears,  and 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POLYP.  47 

heard  no  groans.  You  may  never  hear  them  in  this 
world.  But  in  the  great  day  of  retribution  you  shall 
stand  as  God's  appointed  archer,  with  the  trophies 
of  redeeming  grace  about  you,  and  stars  shall  blaze 
in  the  coronet  of  your  rejoicing,  now  unseen,  save 
by  Him  who  seeth  in  secret  and  rewardeth  openly. 

XLIV. 

Good  Christianity  means  cross-bearing.  Good 
preaching  means  cross-lifting.  From  the  manger 
of  Bethlehem  every  footstep  of  Jesus  moves  straight 
towards  the  cross.  His  whole  life  converges  there. 
After  the  Spirit's  descent  the  only  Gospel  that  was 
preached  was  the  Gospel  of  atoning  blood.  It 
was  Paul's  keynote.  Whatever  else  he  omitted,  he 
never  omitted  the  "  faithful  saying."  The  preach- 
ing of  these  days,  the  only  preaching  that  can 
silence  skepticism,  and  convict  sinners,  and  save 
the  penitent,  is  the  preaching  which  lifts  up  the 
crucified  Son  of  God. 

Nothing  moves  and  melts  the  heart  like  the  love- 
story  of  Calvary.  Good  old  Gilbert  Tennent  was 
missed  one  Sabbath  after  his  morning  service. 
His  family  went  in  search  of  him.  They  found  him 
in  a  woods  near  the  church,  lying  on  the  ground 
and  weeping  like  a  child.  They  inquired  the  cause 
of  his  emotion.  He  told  them  that  after  preaching 
on  the  love  of  the  dying  Saviour  he  had  gone  out 
into  the  woods  to  meditate.  He  erot  such  views  of 


43  EIGHT  TO  THE  POIX7. 

the  wondrous  love  of  God  in  sending  his  Son  into 
the  world  to  die  for  sinners,  that  he  was  completely 
overwhelmed.  The  glory  of  the  cross  seemed  to 
smite  him  down  and  break  his  very  heart  as  it  had 
the  heart  of  Paul.  He  saw  no  one  save  Jesus  only. 
A  clear,  distinct  look  at  Jesus  is  what  every  sin- 
ner also  needs  to  convict  him  of  guilt  and  break 
him  down.  The  preaching  which  melts  hard  hearts 
is  Christ-preaching  —  cross-preaching.  It  wounds, 
and  it  heals.  It  kills  sin,  and  brings  to  the  penitent 
sinner  a  new  life.  Moses  had  nothing  else  to  do 
but  to  lift  up  the  brazen  serpent  before  the  bitten, 
dying  multitude  in  the  camp.  We  ministers  find 
our  foremost  duty,  and  our  holiest  delight  in  simply 
lifting  up  the  atoning  Lamb  of  God  before  the  eyes 
of  our  congregations.  Nothing  else  can  touch  and 
fire  the  true  believer  like  the  vision  of  his  bleeding 
Lord.  Brethren,  let  us  lift  up  the  cross  !  Let  us 
rally  to  that  as  the  last  hope  of  a  sin-cursed  world  — 
as  the  on1^  breakwater  against  the  floods  of  error 
and  iniquity.  If  the  cross  of  Calvary  cannot  save 
the  world  —  it  is  gone  !  But  it  will !  God  has  hung 
the  destiny  of  the  race  on  that  cross.  Our  duty 
begins  and  ends  in  setting  that  one  beacon  of  salva- 
tion full  before  the  eye  of  every  immortal  soul. 

XLV. 

There  is  a  hunger  that  grows  by  what  it  feeds 
upon  ;  the  pastor  who  realizes  that  on  every  Sab- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  49 

bath  some  immortal  souls  may  be  listening  to  their 
last  message,  will  be  very  apt  to  keep  the  appetite 
for  practical  gospel  keen  and  omnivorous.  Minis- 
ters may  run  dry ;  the  Bible  and  the  daily  needs 
of  human  hearts  never  do.  To  get  honestly  tired 
in  preaching  is  vastly  different  from  getting  tired 
<2f  it. 

XLVL 

It  may  sound  extravagant,  but  it  seems  clear  to 
my  own  mind  that  Chalmers  was  the  most  remark- 
able personage  whom  Protestantism  has  produced 
since  the  era  of  the  Reformation.  Certainly  he  is 
the  king  of  Presbyterianism.  Our  Church  has  not 
had  his  cquil  since  John  Knox  pointed  his  dying 
finger  up  towards  Heaven.  Chalmers  b:ilked  more 
largely  than  any  man  in  our  calendar  of  heroes ; 
he  had  the  most  immense  manhood  ;  he  swayed 
men  with  a  more  imperial  presence  and  power ;  he 
combined  in  himself  the  overwhelming  orator,  the 
thoughtful  philosopher,  the  sagacious  leader,  and  the 
saintly  apostle  of  Christ.  Mr.  Gladstone  hit  the 
idea  very  happily  when  —  in  his  letter  read  at  the 
centennial  celebration  —  he  spoke  of  the  "  warrior 
grandeur  "  of  Thomas  Chalmers.  The  leader  of 
the  Free  Kirk  Exodus  was  a  born  warrior,  with  the 
bravery  of  a  paladin  and  the  eagle  eye  of  a  com- 
mander, and  yet  with  a  woman's  tenderness  sweet- 
ening and  enriching  his  "stately  and  heavenly 
mind."  As  a  pulpit  orator,  he  begins  to  be  known 


60  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

chiefly  by  tradition.  His  printed  discourses  — 
splendid  as  they  arc  —  give  us  but  a  small  concep- 
tion of  what  they  were  when  delivered  with  a  rush 
cf  enthusiasm  and  a  volume  of  voice  that  made  the 
rafters  roar.  Alexander  Duff  came  nearest  to  him 
in  oratorical  power,  but  Duff  was  great  only  on  one 
theme ;  he  was  the  Chrysostom  of  Foreign  Missions, 
and  when  he  spoke  on  that  topic,  those  who  heard 
him  "  said  that  it  thundered."  Chalmers  was 
uniformly  great,  whether  he  was  addressing  the 
merchants  of  Glasgow,  or  the  paupers  of  the  West 
Port,  or  the  peers  and  parliament-men  in  London. 
His  immense  manhood  gave  his  speech  an  immense 
momentum. 

XLVII. 

Christ  himself  never  prepared  a  formula  of  truth 
and  made  the  acceptance  of  that  formula  the  one 
condition  of  salvation.  His  constant  loving  call 
was  "Come  unto  Me;"  his  emphatic  declaration 
was,  He  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life. 
When  he  presented  the  vital  truth  of  the  atone- 
ment it  was  only  by  presenting  himself  as  the 
atoner. 

What  a  monstrous  mistake  it  is  to  present  the 
most  orthodox  of  theology  in  such  a  way  as  to 
draw  attention  to  it  alone ;  and  project  it  before 
the  cross  of  the  crucified  Lamb  of  God.  Paul  was 
scrupulously  careful  never  to  play  the  theologian 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  51 

at  the  expense  of  the  Christ-preacher.  He  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing  but  Christ  and  him  cruci- 
fied. Wherever  he  stood  —  whether  before  scowl- 
ing Pharisees  or  Roman  pro-consuls  or  poor  cripples 
at  Lystra,  or  conscience-stricken  sinners  in  a  Mace- 
donian dungeon  —  he  just  aimed  to  make  them  sec 
no  one  but  Jesus  only. 

XLVIII. 

Fidelity  on  the  part  of  God's  minister  is  the  first 
step  commonly  towards  bringing  back  to  fidelity  a 
delinquent  church-member.  The  same  infallible 
Teacher  who  commands  us  to  "exhort,"  also  com- 
mands us  to  "rebuke."  At  all  hazards,  desertion 
is  a  sin  to  be  dealt  with  in  earnest.  Even  a  rebuke 
may  be  red-hot  with  love. 

It  is  often  wise  to  take  a  man  at  his  own  valua- 
tion, and  let  him  know  that  you  need  him. 

XLIX. 

There  is  no  greater  mistake  than  to  present 
Christ  our  Elder  Brother  to  mankind  in  too  sombre 
an  aspect,  as  the  Man  of  Sorrows  and  mainly  as 
the  righteous  condemner  of  sin.  Rather  should 
we  present  him  as  both  loathing  sin  and  loving 
the  sinner.  He  came  into  the  world  not  to  con- 
demn the  world,  but  that  the  world  through  him 
might  be  saved. 


C2  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

L. 

Everything  that  can  be  known  about  Calvin  the 
world  is  anxious  to  hear.  Presbyterians  cherish 
his  very  shos-latchct.  He  not  only  organized  their 
church-system,  but  became  the  great  organizing 
spirit  of  the  Reformed  churches  throughout  Europe. 
For  the  majestic  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Sovereignty, 
Calvin  did  what  Lord  Bacon  did  for  the  philosophy 
of  Induction.  For  republican  freedom  he  did  a 
work  that  made  Geneva  not  only  the  freest  but  the 
most  virtuous  city  on  the  Continent.  It  was  not 
only  Edwards  who  built  on  foundations  which 
Calvin  had  laid  ;  but  in  building  up  free  common- 
wealths, John  Hampden,  William  the  Silent,  and 
George  Washington  reared  on  these  same  founda- 
tions too.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  John 
Calvin  underlies  not  only  all  the  sound  Piblical 
theology,  but  all  the  republican  liberty  upon  the 
globe.  Even  the  most  sagacious  Romanists  con- 
fess that  his  immortal  Institutes  constitute  the 
Koran,  or  rather  the  Talmud  of  the  Protestant 
heresy. 

When  a  city  is  taken  a  sudden  assault  may  place 
the  conquering  flag  on  the  ramparts,  yet  for  many 
months  that  conqueror  may  have  been  battering 
at  the  walls.  The  truth  by  which  Calvin's  strongly- 
fortified  heart  was  stormed  and  carried  by  the  Spirit 
was  the  simple,  irresistible  truth  that  Jesus  Clirist 
died  to  save  sinners. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  53 

LI. 

A  smooth  popularity-hunting  preacher  is  gener- 
ally safe  in  "  kings'  houses,"  but  the  Luthers  find 
their  meed  in  Wartburg  castles.  The  Latimers  and 
the  John  Husses  have  their  earnest  voices  smoth- 
ered at  the  crackling  stake,  amid  fire  and  smoke  — 
and  the  tongues  of  the  bold  John  Baptists  are  only 
safe  to  Satan's  tyrants,  when  "  the  head  is  brought 


in  on  a  charger.' 


LIT. 


The  great  power  of  a  good  pastor  over  his  people 
is  heart poiver.  Intellectual  brilliancy  may  awaken 
the  pride  of  a  congregation  in  their  minister;  but 
it  is  his  affectionate  sympathy  and  personal  kind- 
ness to  them  that  awaken  their  love  for  him  and 
keep  it  burning. 

The  mass  of  sinful  men  are  only  to  be  reached 
through  their  affections.  Sympathy  is  power. 
Christ  Jesus  did  not  win  Zaccheus  the  publican, 
by  argument.  He  simply  went  to  his  house  and 
won  him  by  a  divine  sympathy. 

LIII. 

No  man  should  build  so  high,  but  the  pulpit 
should  build  above  him.  No  reckless  youth  in  his 
wildest  aberration  of  profligacy  should  ever  reach  a 


64  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

pitfall  or  a  precipice  that  had  not  been  mapped  out 
to  him  beforehand  in  the  pulpit.  And  on  life's 
rough  highway  no  sinning  sufferer  should  faint  or 
fall,  or  be  flung  into  thicket  so  dense  and  dark  but 
over  him  should  bend  Christ's  messenger  of  love, 
and  into  his  bleeding  wounds  should  distil  the  balm 
of  Heaven's  Gospel. 

LIV. 

It  is  not  easy  to  exhaust  a  man  who  is  always 
filling  his  head  and  heart  from  God's  inexhaustible 
reservoir. 

LV. 

All  choicest  things  are  reckoned  the  dearest. 
So,  is  it  too,  in  Heaven's  inventories.  The  universe 
of  God  has  never  witnessed  aught  to  be  reckoned 
in  comparison  with  the  redemption  of  a  guilty 
world.  That  mighty  ransom  no  such  contemptible 
things  as  silver  and  gold  could  procure.  Only  by 
one  price  could  the  Church  of  God  be  redeemed 
from  hell,  and  that  the  precious  blood  of  the  Lamb 
—  the  Lamb  without  spot  or  blemish  —  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world. 

LVI. 

The  atoning  blood  is  the  central  fact  in  the  gos- 
pel system.  If  we  are  justified,  it  is  by  faith  in 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  65 

Jesus' s  blood ;  if  we  are  purified  it  is  because  that 
blood  cleanseth  from  sin  ;  if  we  ever  gain  admission 
to  the  shining  ranks  of  Paradise,  it  is  because  we 
have  washed  our  robes  and  made  them  white  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb. 

LVII. 

The  Christian's  heart  understands  the  atonement 
better  than  the  Christian's  head.  It  is  a  difficult 
doctrine  for  the  brain,  but  a  sweet  and  simple  one 
to  the  affections. 

Jonathan  Edwards  could  not  comprehend  the 
Atonement  one  whit  more  clearly  nor  intensely, 
than  the  Dairyman's  daughter  when  she  sang  to 
herself  — 


How  glorious  the  grace, 

When  Christ  sustained  the  stroke ; 
His  life  and  blood  the  Shepherd   pays, 

A  ransom  for  his  flock. 


LVIII. 

Let  every  troubled  inquirer  for  salvation  under- 
stand that  the  atoning  blood  of  Jesus  alone  can  pay 
the  debt,  and  satisfy  the  demands  of  broken  law. 
When  you  accept  Christ,  the  load  is  lifted  off; 
when  the  deadly  disease  is  cured,  the  light,  the  joy, 
the  strength,  pour  in  like  sun-rays  through  an 
opened  window. 


53  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

LIX. 

The  will  and  testament  made  by  the  atoning 
Saviour  can  never  be  set  aside  or  broken.  All  the 
powers  of  Hell  cannot  cheat  the  humblest  child  of 
Jesus  out  of  his  legacy.  Every  human  being,  lofty 
or  lowly,  a  prince  or  pauper,  is  invited  to  become 
an  heir.  The  estate  is  large  enough  to  supply  an 
universe  of  sinners  with  an  eternity  of  bliss.  At 
Christ's  right  hand  are  treasures  and  pleasures, 
forever  more. 

LX. 

It  is  an  encouraging  thought  that  Jesus  is  not 
only  seeking  to  save  you,  but  he  will  miss  you,  if 
you  do  not  give  your  heart  and  your  life  to  him. 
As  the  shepherd  in  the  parable  left  the  ninety  and 
nine  to  hunt  for  the  single  straggler,  so  you  may 
gladly  hope  that  Jesus  wants  you  in  his  fold  and 
wants  you  in  Heaven,  or  else  he  would  not  have 
come  so  far  and  endured  so  much  to  save  you.  If 
you  leave  yourself  to  die  without  him,  there  will 
be  one  more  soul  in  hell.  But  if  he  is  left  without 
you,  there  will  be  one  soul  the  less  to  chant  his 
praises  in  the  Golden  City  ;  he  will  have  one  the 
less  to  present  before  his  Father  "  with  exceeding 
joy."  Surely  there  is  a  prodigious  encouragement 
in  the  fact  that  the  Saviour  is  so  intent  to  find  you, 
and  therefore  you  ought  to  make  a  complete  un- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  57 

reserved  surrender  of  yourself  to  him  instantly. 
As  a  converted  man  once  said  to  Doctor  Wisner 
of  Ithaca  —  "I  discovered  that  accepting  Christ 
was  only  a  moment's  work  as  soon  as  I  was  in 
earnest." 

It  ought  not  to  be  long  before  you  who  are  seek- 
ing Christ  and  the  Christ  who  is  seeking  you,  come 
togctlicr.  On  your  part  there  must  be  genuine 
repentance  of  sin  ;  on  his  part  there  will  be  rescue, 
and  reception  into  his  fold.  When  you  heartily 
trust  him  for  salvation  he  will  entrust  himself  with 
your  salvation,  and  the  momentous  question  is 
settled.  As  soon  as  you  give  yourself  to  the 
Saviour  the  Saviour  gives  himself  to  you,  and  there 
will  be  joy  on  both  sides. 

That  is  a  fine  stroke  in  the  paraole  given  by 
Luke  in  his  fifteenth  chapter,  which  depicts  the 
divine  joy  of  the  Rescuer.  When  the  loving  and 
looking  shepherd  "findeth  the  sheep,  he  layelh  it 
on  his  shoulders  rejoicing"  He  is  glad  for  the 
sake  of  the  rescued  sheep,  but  still  more  for  his 
own  sake.  It  was  for  the  joy  set  before  him  that 
he  endured  the  cross  of  Calvary,  and  despised  the 
shame. 

What  a  glorious  satisfaction  there  will  be  on  both 
sides  when  you  as  a  true  penitent  and  Christ  as 
a  true  pardoner  come  together,  and  enter  into  a 
partnership  for  eternity!  That  partnership  he  will 
not  be  the  first  to  break,  for  whom  he  loveth  he 
loves  unto  the  end. 


58  RIGUT  TO  THE  POINT. 

LXI. 

The  costliest  thing  in  the  world  is  sin.  It  costs 
purity  of  conscience,  and  costs  the  favor  of  God. 
It  will  cost  at  the  last  the  loss  of  Heaven.  The  sin 
of  grieving  the  Holy  Spirit  has  cost  many  a  one 
everlasting  perdition. 

LXII. 

It  will  require  the  opening  of  the  books  of 
remembrance  at  the  judgment  bar  to  exhibit  in  its 
completeness  the  responsibility  of  individuals  in 
each  other's  actions.  How  this  partaking  in  other 
men's  sins  will  complicate  the  decisions  of  that 
day !  How  interwoven  will  be  the  web  of  human 
influence !  And  how  many  a  sin  will  wander 
about  that  countless  multitude  of  waiting  men 
searching  for  its  real  owner,  until  it  fastens  on 
some  individual  who,  for  the  first  time,  shall 
appear  to  those  around  him,  and  perhaps  to  him- 
self, as  having  been  a  thief,  or  a  blasphemer,  an 
adulterer  or  a  murderer  ! 

LXIII. 

We  have  read  of  a  singular  tree  that  forcibly 
illustrates  the  deceitfulness  of  sin.  It  is  called 
the  Judas-tree.  The  blossoms  appear  before  the 
leaves,  and  they  are  of  brilliant  crimson.  The 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  59 

flaming  beauty  of  the  flowers  attracts  innumerable 
insects,  and  the  wandering  bee  is  drawn  to  it  to 
gather  honey.  But  every  bee  that  alights  upon 
the  blossoms  imbibes  a  fatal  opiate,  and  drops 
dead  from  among  the  crimson  flowers  to  the 
earth  !  Beneath  this  enticing  tree  the  earth  is 
strewed  with  the  victims  of  its  fatal  fascinations. 
That  fatal  plant  that  attracts  only  to  destroy,  is 
a  vivid  emblem  of  the  deceitfulness  and  deadli- 
ness  of  sin.  For  the  poison  of  sin's  bewitching 
flowers,  there  is  but  one  remedy.  It  is  found  in 
the  "leaves  of  the  tree  of  life,"  that  groweth  on 
Mount  Calvary. 

LXIV. 

Why  should  any  man  betake  himself  to  a 
Saviour,  if  he  does  not  realize  that  he  needs  one, 
and  that  there  is  an  abominable  and  deadly  evil  in 
his  own  heart  and  life  that  he  must  be  saved 
from  ?  When  David's  eyes  had  been  opened  to 
behold  the  loathsome  depravity  of  his  own  con- 
duct, he  asks  for  no  compromise,  but  cries  out : 
"  Wash  me  thoroughly  from  my  iniquity."  He 
was  ready  to  be  thrown  like  a  filthy  garment  into 
the  caustic  alkalies,  to  be  rubbed  and  mailed  and 
beaten  until  the  black  spots  were  cleansed  away 
from  the  fabric.  Such  an  abhorrence  of  sin  it 
is  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  produce ;  there- 
fore should  we  pray  for  the  Spirit.  Such  a  view  of 


6D  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

his  guilt  it  is  the  office  of  the  minister  to  bring 
before  every  unconverted  man  ;  therefore  should 
the  minister  hold  up  the  exceeding  sinful  ness  of 
sin.  The  clearer  the  view  of  sin  the  more  thor- 
ough is  likely  to  be  the  repentance.  "  Ye  must 
be  born  again,"  saicl  the  Master  to  his  anxious 
inquirer  Nicodemus.  But  the  new  birth  or  regen- 
eration is  the  production  of  a  new  principle  in  us 
which  is  antagonistic  to  sin  as  well  as  obedient  to 
God. 

LXV. 

If  righteousness  must  be  loved  for  its  own  sake, 
so  there  is  no  virtue  in  avoiding  sin  simply 
because  it  brings  a  sting  in  this  life  and  hell  in  the 
next.  Iniquity  must  be  hated  because  it  is  hate- 
ful, and  God  abhors  it.  Some  people  avoid  certain 
sins  as  a  house-cat  avoids  the  cupboard  for  fear  of 
the  cudgel  of  the  cook.  Holiness  is  dread  of  sin ; 
not  dread  of  perdition. 

LXVI. 

A  man's  besetting  sin  is  the  one  that  jumps 
with  his  inclinations.  Does  he  love  mirthfulness  ? 
Then  he  must  be  careful  lest  he  run  into  excessive 
levity  and  play  the  harlequin.  He  will  be  tempted 
to  make  jests  of  sacred  things.  A  minister  ought 
not  to  be  a  monk;  but  neither  should  he  be  a 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  61 

social  comedian.  Docs  a  man  love  ease  ?  Then 
he  always  interprets  those  Providences  in  his  own 
favor  which  allow  him  to  shirk  hard  work  and 
swing  in  his  hammock.  Does  he  love  flattery  and 
eclat  ?  Then  he  is  tempted  to  seek  applause,  and 
to  imagine  that  he  is  serving  God  when  he  is  only 
burning  incense  on  the  altar  of  self-worship.  The 
worst  enemy  is  the  one  which  wears  an  honest 
disguise.  Look  out  for  selfisliness.  It  is  the  "old 
Adam  "  lurking  behind  every  hedge.  It  will  al- 
ways keep  pace  with  you  if  you  give  it  the  upper 
hand.  Keep  no  league  with  it  ;  for  Christ  will 
never  abide  in  the  same  heart  with  that  subtle  and 
greedy  tyrant.  A  Christian  is  never  safe,  never 
strong,  never  true  to  Christ,  unless  he  is  constantly 
"collaring"  every  sinful  and  selfish  passion,  and 
forcing  it  into  unconditional  surrender. 

LXVII. 

It  is  not  the  gale  which  carries  so  many  on  the 
rocks  or  the  quicksands.  It  is  the  silent  under- 
current. 

LXVIII. 

A  man  may  be  crushed  by  an  avalanche,  or 
poisoned  by  an  atom  of  strychnine ;  each  one 
takes  life !  And  the  sin  that  keeps  you  from 
Jesus  takes  your  life  for  all  eternity. 


62  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

LXIX. 

Repentance  is  put  before  faith  in  God's  word. 
We  must  abhor  evil  before  we  cleave  to  that  which 
is  good.  Do  you  abhor  your  past  sinfulness,  and 
are  you  ready  to  abandon  your  sinful  practices, 
without  any  exception  ?  This  is  a  question  to  take 
precedence  of  all  others.  While  the  love  of  sin 
remains,  the  heart  cannot  love  the  spotless  Saviour. 
There  is  no  room  for  both.  God  will  not  accept  a 
corner,  and  leave  to  Satan  the  "chief  seats"  in  the 
soul.  "  Ye  shall  seek  Me,  and  find  Me,  when  ye 
search  for  me  with  all  the  heart."  It  is  the  com- 
promise with  favorite  sins  which  produces  shallow 
conversions,  and  stunted  Christians.  Pray  for  deep 
conviction,  and  a  thorough  uprooting  of  evil  prin- 
ciples and  inclinations.  A  true  Christian  must  not 
only  do  a  great  deal  of  sincere  loving,  but  also  a 
great  deal  of  honest  hating.  Doctor  Johnson  loved 
"  a  good  hater."  Until  an  awakened  sinner  so  hates 
sin  as  to  lock  it  out,  he  has  no  room  for  Jesus  to 
dwell  within  him. 

In  this  conflict  with  sin,  you  will  soon  find  that 
you  can  accomplish  nothing  without  the  help  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Not  by  your  own  might,  not  by 
your  own  power,  "but  by  My  Spirit,  saith  the 
Lord."  You  must  conspire  with,  and  work  with, 
that  Divine  Spirit.  Where  he  presses  you,  yield  ; 
whither  he  leads,  follow  !  This  demands  constant 
prayer  for  his  guidance.  Are  you  asking  this  with 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  63 

all  sincerity  ?  In  prayer,  you  ought  to  go  over  the 
whole  ground  of  your  weaknesses  and  wants  —  as 
a  gardener  puts  his  spade  into  every  inch  of  the 
soil  in  order  to  clear  out  the  weeds  and  to  break 
up  the  ground  for  the  valuable  seeds. 

LXX. 

The  best  drainage  of  a  farmer's  field  is  sub-soil 
drainage.  In  our  churches  we  need  a  sub-soil 
repentance.  It  must  cut  deep.  It  must  cut  up 
sin  by  the  root.  If  the  ploughshare  run  through 
the  flower-beds  and  melon-patches  of  one  of  our 
self-indulgence,  so  much  the  better.  The  trench 
that  drains  off  our  sins  will  be  a  channel  for  the 
sweet,  life-giving  waters  of  salvation. 

LXXI. 

At  the  close  of  one  of  his  busiest  days  of  labor, 
our  Lord  finds  himself  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake 
Gennesareth.  He  says  to  his  followers:  "  Let  us 
cross  over  unto  the  other  side.  There  is  substan- 
tially the  imitation  to  every  unconverted  soul.  For 
there  are  two  "sides"  in  life  —  a  wrong  side  and 
a  right  side ;  a  side  on  which  Satan  reigns  and  a 
"Lord's  side"  where  his  word  is  a  light  unto  the 
footsteps.  On  one  side  his  guilt  and  over  it  hangs 
the  cloud  of  condemnation.  No  man  can  be  on 
both  sides,  if  he  try  ever  so  hard.  Woe  be  to  him 


64  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

if  his  professions  place  him  on  the  Lord's  side, 
while  his  affections  and  his  conduct  are  on  the  side 
of  the  enemy. 

Christ  draws  sharp  lines,  and  allows  no  neutrali- 
ties. I  do  not  read  of  any  place  in  Heaven  far 
neutrals. 

LXXII. 

A  vague  desire  to  be  better,  stronger,  holier,  will 
come  to  nothing.  Character  is  built,  like  the  walls 
of  an  edifice,,  by  laying  one  stone  upon  another. 
Lay  hold  of  some  single  fault  and  mend  it.  Put 
the  knife,  with  God's  help,  to  some  ugly  besetting 
sin.  Stop  that  one  leak  that  has  let  so  much  foul 
bilgewater  into  your  soul.  Put  into  practice  some 
long  neglected  duty. 

LXXIII. 

The  fatal  mistake  of  many  people  is  that  they 
seek  for  a  cheap  religion.  Some  preachers  and 
teachers  in  their  desire  to  recommend  the  glorious 
freeness  of  the  Gospel  and  the  simplicity  of  faith, 
hold  out  the  idea  that  it  is  the  "easiest  thing  in 
the  world  to  become  a  Christian."  They  hold  up 
very  attractively  summer  religion  which  is  all  clear 
weather  and  sunshine,  and  Christianity  as  a  sort  of 
close-covered  carriage,  in  which  one  can  ride  for 
nothing  and  be  safely  landed,  without  too  many 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  65 

jolts  at  the  gateway  of  Heaven.  Very  little  allow' 
ance  is  made  by  these  rose-water  teachers  for  the 
stubborn  depravity  of  the  human  heart,  for  the 
tremendous  power  of  the  Adversary  and  for  the 
poisonous  atmosphere  through  which  one  must 
fight  his  way  to  the  "  prize  of  the  high  calling." 
Grand  old  Samuel  Rutherford  in  his  nervous,  incis- 
ive way,  says  :  "  Many  people  only  play  with  Chris- 
tianity and  take  Christ  for  almost  nothing.  I  pray 
you  to  make  your  soul  sure  of  salvation,  and  the 
seeking  of  Heaven  your  daily  work.  If  you  never 
had  a  sick  night  and  a  pained  soul  for  sin,  ye  have 
not  yet  lighted  upon  Christ.  Look  to  the  right 
marks  ;  if  ye  love  him  better  than  the  world,  and 
would  quit  all  the  world  for  him,  then  that  proveth 
that  the  zuork  is  sound,"  Probably  no  writer  has 
ever  combined  the  richest  ecstacies  of  devotion 
with  a  more  pungent  exhibition  of  the  plainest  rules 
of  every  day  morality.  The  first  step  toward  a 
genuine  abiding  Christian  character  is  repentance 
of  sin.  No  man  can  cleave  to  his  sins  and  lay  hold 
of  Christ  with  the  same  hand.  No  man  can  turn 
to  the  Lord  until  he  has  turned  his  back  upon  his 
evil  practices  and  is  willing  to  thoroughly  amend 
his  ways  and  his  doings. 

LXXIV. 

Christianity  is  more  than  prohibition  of  iniquity, 
it  is  the  performance  of  Christ's  commandments. 


60  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

The  only  way  to  get  sin  out  of  our  lives,  is  to 
get  sin  out  of  our  hearts,  and  the  only  effectual 
way  to  accomplish  that  is  to  admit  Jesus  Christ 
into  our  hearts. 

LXXV. 

The  only  effectual  repentance  is  to  abandon 
known  sins.  The  only  effectual  faith  is  to  begin  to 
keep  Christ's  commandments  with  Christ's  help. 
Do  not  wait  for  harrowing  grief,  or  some  thunder- 
clap of  excitement.  Fears  do  not  save  a  soul. 
Felix  was  "terrified,"  but  did  not  flee  to  the  only 
Saviour.  Religion  is  not  mere  emotion  of  any 
kind.  Saving  faith  is  simply  renouncing  self,  and 
laying  hold  on  Jesus.  Immediate  surrender  brings 
immediate  salvation.  "Follow  Me"  signifies  — 
go  where  I  lead,  and  do  what  I  command,  and  thou 
shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven. 

LXXVI. 

Repentance  is  not  merely  sorrow  for  past  sins  ; 
it  is  abandonment  of  our  own  specific  sins. 

LXXVII. 

The  young  ruler  who  came  to  Jesus  with  the 
inquiry  on  his  lips,  "  Good  Master,  what  good  thing 
shall  I  do  that  I  may  have  eternal  life  ? "  has 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POIAT.  67 

always  been  to  me  an  object  of  intense  interest  and 
sympathy.  We  are  taken  with  his  frankness  and 
our  highest  expectations  are  excited  that  he  will, 
like  Matthew  and  Nathanael,  promptly  grasp  the 
boon  that  is  offered  him.  There  is  something 
exceedingly  touching  in  the  artless  naivete  with 
which  he  says  to  Jesus  ;  "  All  these  commandments 
have  I  kept  from  my  youth  up.  What  lack  I 
yet  ? "  Scores  of  just  such  persons  are  to  be  found 
in  our  congregations,  and  in  nearly  every  inquiry- 
meeting  we  encounter  them.  They  desire  to  be 
saved.  They  have  a  large  "  invoice  "  of  goods  to 
exhibit.  They  have  rather  fattened  their  self- 
esteem  by  feeding  on  the  rich  morsels  of  their  own 
merits.  Having  done  so  much  for  themselves  and 
by  themselves  they  stand  ready  to  do  more  yet, 
provided  they  can  do  it  in  their  own  way.  The 
Omniscient  Saviour  read  that  self-righteous  youth 
to  the  very  bottom  ;  and  he  thrust  the  probe  into 
him  until  it  touched  the  quick.  He  knew  per- 
fectly well  what  the  ruler's  besetting  sin  was,  and 
just  what  amputation  was  required  in  order  to  save 
his  soul.  Selfishness  was  that  sin.  The  knife 
must  cut  that  out,  or  there  was  no  hope  of  a  life 
eternal.  The  prize  was  magnificent,  and  the  sacri- 
fice must  be  proportionate.  "  Give  up  your  pos- 
sessions and  take  up  a  cross  for  me !  "  That  was 
Christ's  close  and  searching  test.  Nothing  less 
than  that.  "Follow  Me  and  thou  shalt  be  rich  in 
Heaven."  A  glorious  offer,  but  Heaven  was  a 


68  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

great  way  off,  and  the  wealth  of  this  world  was 
just  at  hand  and  had  possession  of  the  young 
ruler's  heart.  He  did  not  so  much  own  them  as 
they  owned  him.  If  he  had  been  willing  to  part 
with  them  and  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  lowly, 
persecuted  Son  of  God,  he  might  have  been 
immortal  in  the  same  illustrious  bead-roll  with 
Peter,  the  fisher  of  men,  and  Matthew,  the  gatherer 
of  tribute  for  the  King.  But  alas !  he  clings  to 
his  besetting  sin  and  goes  away  sorrowful.  As  the 
original  Greek  has  it,  "he  went  away  frowning. " 
Disgust  at  the  hard  terms  and  disgust  with  him- 
self clouded  his  brow.  The  frown  which  lowered 
there  was  a  type  and  a  precursor  of  the  heavier 
frown  which  is  likely  to  meet  him  when  he  stands 
before  that  rejected  Saviour  as  his  rejecting  Judge. 
Dante,  in  his  "Inferno,"  pictures  this  unhappy 
young  man  as  blown  about  like  a  withered  leaf  in 
the  regions  of  the  lost  —  "the  shade  of  him  who 
made,  through  cowardice,  the  great  refusal."  This 
describes  exactly  the  condition  of  thousands.  They 
are  offered  a  great  salvation  on  the  simple  terms 
of  quitting  their  own  favorite  sins  and  their  own 
self-righteousness,  and  doing  God's  will.  The 
issue  is  sharp  and  distinct.  It  is  yes  or  no.  The 
pressure  of  the  Divine  Spirit  upon  your  conscience 
is  to  let  go  your  sin  and  cleave  to  Christ.  One  or 
the  other  you  must  give  up.  You  cannot  keep 
both.  The  young  ruler  could  not  serve  Christ 
and  Mammon. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  69 

LXXVIII. 

An  earnest,  resolute  setting  about  the  work  of 
repentance,  and  of  seeking  God,  seldom  fails. 

LXXIX. 

Saving  faith  is  not  an  opinion ;   it  is  a  transac- 
tion by  which  the  believing  soul  joins  itself  unto 
Christ  Jesus,  who  saith  unto  such  a  soul  "  I  am 
thy  salvation."     The  stronger  the  faith  is,  the  more 
stable  and  serene  is  the  sense  of  security  which  the 
believer  feels.     Spurgeon  has  happily  observed  that 
faith  is  the  milk  and  assurance  is  the  cream  which 
rises  on  it ;  the  richer  the  milk  the  more  abundant 
the  cream.     Faith  is  life,  although    it   may  be   a 
very  feeble  life  in  many  hearts.     On  this  April 
day  the  little  modest  arbutus   may  be  about  the 
only  flower  peeping  out  after  the  exit  of  the  winter ; 
but  it  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for,  when 
warmer  suns  will  have  brought  the  wealth  of  June 
roses.     The  life  which  Jesus  imparts  is  the  main 
thing ;    having  that,  every  believer  should  aim  to 
have  this  life  more  abundantly.     A  higher  degree 
of  faith  will  bring  more  vigor,  and  joy,  and  con- 
quering power,  and  these  will  bring  clear,  strong 
assurance. 

Peter  possessed  some  measure  of  faith  when  he 
cried  out  to  his  Master  from  the  boisterous  waves 
"  Lord,  save  me."  The  Holy  Spirit  had  given  him 


70  RIGIIT  TO  THE  POINT. 

a  far  higher  attainment  of  knowledge  and  soul- 
trust,  when  he  proclaimed  in  the  market-place  of 
Jerusalem,  "This  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at 
naught  of  you  builders,  which  is  become  the  head 
of  the  corner."  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  an  infant  faith 
born  within  him  when  he  was  groping  about  the 
house  of  Ananias  at  Damascus.  The  infant  was 
crying  for  the  light  and  had  not  yet  received  the 
full  inpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  But  the  infant 
had  grown  into  a  giant  when  Paul  the  veteran 
reached  up  to  the  eighth  chapter  to  the  Romans, 
and  could  shout  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
death  nor  life,  angels  or  principalities  or  powers, 
things  present  or  things  to  come,  nor  height  or 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to  sep- 
arate me  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord." 

This  was  full  assurance.  Paul  had  the  witness 
of  the  Spirit  that  he  was  a  saved  man  in  Christ. 
There  was  an  inward  conviction  and  an  outward 
life,  and  the  two  were  correlated  as  root  and  tree- 
trunk  ;  they  both  corresponded  to  the  Holy  Spirit's 
description  of  the  true  Christian  as  revealed  to  us 
in  the  Word.  When  a  tree  produces  the  leaves  of 
the  cherry,  and  the  blossoms  and  fruit  of  the  cherry, 
we  are  confident  that  it  is  a  cherry-tree.  When  a 
man  possesses  a  trust  in  Jesus  and  a  love  for  Jesus 
in  his  soul,  and  honestly  endeavors  to  keep  the 
commandments  of  Jesus,  he  has  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  that  he  is  a  child  of  God.  He  is  one  of  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  71 

family.  He  has  passed  from  death  unto  life.  The 
curse  has  been  taken  away,  and  there  is  no  con- 
demnation resting  on  him,  because  he  is  in  Christ 
Jesus. 

LXXX. 

It  is  not  every  faith  that  saves  the  soul.  There 
may  be  a  faith  in  a  falsehood  which  leads  only  to 
delusion  and  ends  in  destruction.  When  the 
Eddystone  lighthouse  was  to  be  built,  Winstanly, 
the  noted  engineer,  contracted  to  rear  a  structure 
which  should  withstand  the  assaults  of  time  and 
tempest.  So  confident  was  his  faith  in  the  showy 
structure  of  his  own  skill,  that  he  offered  to  lodge 
in  it  with  the  keeper  through  the  autumn  gales. 
He  was  true  to  his  word.  But  the  first  tremendous 
tempest  which  caught  the  flimsy  lighthouse  in  the 
hollow  of  its  hand  hurled  both  building  and  builder 
into  the  foaming  sea.  We  fear  that  too  many 
souls  are  rearing  their  hopes  for  eternity  upon  the 
sands  of  error,  when  the  testing  floods  come  and 
the  winds  beat  upon  their  house  it  will  fall,  and 
sad  will  be  the  fall  thereof. 

Faith  is  simple  and  entire  reliance  upon  some- 
thing or  somebody. 

"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved,"  was  Paul's  answer  to  the  most 
important  question  that  human  lips  can  utter. 
Not  in  Christianity  but  on  Christ.  It  is  not 


72  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

enough  to  believe  in  the  Christ  described  in  the 
New  Testament.  Millions  of  unconverted  people 
do  this,  just  as  they  believe  in  Wilberforce  as  a 
noble  philanthropist,  or  Lincoln  as  an  unselfish 
patriot.  But  these,  whose  judgments  assent  to 
Christ's  wonderful  beauty  of  character,  do  not 
entrust  their  souls  to  him  as  an  atoning  Redeemer. 
They  do  not  rely  on  what  he  has  done  for  them,  or 
promises  to  do.  They  do  not  put  themselves  into 
such  spiritual  connection  with  him  that  they  draw 
from  his  divine  life  their  own  inner  life,  as  a  grape 
cluster  draws  its  substance  from  the  vine.  When 
the  miner  looks  at  the  rope  which  is  to  lower  him 
into  the  deep  mine,  he  may  coolly  say  to  himself, 
"  I  have  faith  in  that  rope.  It  looks  well  made 
and  strong."  That  is  his  opinion,  but  when  he 
grasps  it  and  swings  down  by  it  into  the  dark, 
yawning  chasm,  then  he  is  believing  on  the  rope. 
This  is  more  than  an  opinion ;  it  is  a  voluntary 
transaction.  The  miner  just  lets  go  of  his  foot- 
hold and  bears  his  entire  weight  on  those  well- 
braided  strands  of  hemp.  Faith  is  the  cling  to 
the  rope,  but  it  is  the  rope  itself  which  supports 
him.  When  a  human  soul  lets  go  every  other 
reliance  in  the  wide  universe,  and  hangs  entirely 
upon  what  Jesus  has  done  and  can  do  for  him,  then 
that  soul  "  believes  on  Christ."  To  him  that 
believer  intrusts  himself  for  guidance,  for  pardon, 
for  strength  and  for  ultimate  admission  into  the 
exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  73 

LXXXI. 

Faith  is  a  sensible  act.  Do  you  consider  it  a 
sensible  thing  to  purchase  a  United  States  govern- 
ment bond  ?  Yes  ;  because  it  gives  you  lien  on  all 
the  resources  of  the  great  republic.  So  the  highest 
exercise  of  the  reason  is  to  trust  what  the  Almighty 
God  has  said,  and  to  rely  on  what  he  has  promised. 
Infidelity  plays  the  idiot  whe'n  it  rejects  God,  and 
pays  the  penalty.  Faith  is  wise  unto  its  own  sal- 
vation. Faith  is  salvation  ;  unbelief  is  suicide. 

Faith  is  a  stooping  grace.  That  heart-broken, 
self-despising  woman  weeping  on  the  feet  of  her 
Lord,  is  a  beautiful  picture  of  lowliness  and  sub- 
mission. Self  must  go  down  first,  before- we  can 
be  lifted  up  into  Christ's  favor  and  likeness.  He 
that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  exalted.  Pride  and 
self-righteousness  were  biting  the  dust  when  Saul 
of  Tarsus  stammered  out,  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do."  It  is  an  accursed  self-conceit 
which  prevents  thousands  from  becoming  Chris- 
tians. On  the  low  grounds  falls  the  fertilizing  rain 
of  heaven  ;  the  bleak  mountain-tops  are  barren. 
God  resisteth  the  proud  and  giveth  his  grace  to  the 
lowly.  Faith  links  us  to  omnipotence. 

LXXXII. 

A  clipper  ship  crossing  the  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land, in  heavy  weather,  strikes  an  iceberg.  She 


74  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

settles  rapidly  at  the  bow,  and  her  captain  and 
crew  have  barely  time  to  leap  into  the  life-boat. 
The  question,  "  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  ? " 
is  answered  by  their  prompt  leap  into  the  life- 
boat, which  is  an  act  of  faith.  They  trust  their 
lives  to  it  for  salvation.  From  immediate  death 
they  are  saved.  But  after  the  ship  has  sunk  the 
crew  are  still  out  in  the  deep  and  dangerous  sea. 
There  is  a  second  process  necessary.  In.  order  to 
keep  out  of  the  trough  of  the  sea  and  to  reach  the 
distant  shore,  they  must  stick  to  the  boat  and  pull 
lustily  at  the  oar.  They  must  "  work  out  their 
salvation "  now  by  hard  rowing.  But  this  is  a 
continued  process  of  salvation,  day  after  day,  until 
they  reach  the  shores  of  Nova  Scotia.  Never,  for 
a  moment,  however,  are  they  independent  of  the 
life-boat.  That  must  keep  them  afloat,  or  they  go 
to  the  bottom.  At  last,  after  hard  rowing,  they 
reach  the  welcome  shore.  This  is  the  third,  final 
and  complete  salvation ;  for  they  are  entirely 
beyond  any  perils  of  the  treacherous  sea.  Now 
they  are  at  rest,  for  they  have  reached  the  desired 
haven. 

LXXXIII. 

Faith  and  Action  have  been  the  source,  under 
God,  of  everything  good,  and  great,  and  enduring 
in  the  Church  of  Christ  ;  the  very  church  itself 
exists  through  them.  The  early  apostles  went 
with  their  glad  evangel  to  the  nations,  under  this 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  75 

double  impulse,  and  with  this  double  watchword. 
It  was  not  enough  to  "believe  my  gospel,"  they 
were  also  to  "preach  my  gospel."  It  was  not 
enough  to  love  in  the  heart ;  the  whole  life  was  to 
be  an  embodiment  and  outflow  of  love.  It  was 
not  enough  to  have  a  meek  and  gentle  spirit ;  the 
young  church  was  to  return  good  for  evil,  and  thus 
overcome  evil  with  good.  The  church  was  not 
only  to  be  sound  in  heart,  but  active  in  limb  and 
sinew  also.  It  was  to  be  a  militant  church,  con- 
tending earnestly  for  the  faith  delivered  to  the 
saints  —  a  courageous  church,  standing  fast  for 
the  gospel — a  suppliant  church,  praying  without 
ceasing  —  a  busy  church,  redeeming  the  time — 
a  patient  church,  bearing  with  all  long-suffering  — 
and  a  conquering  church,  to  evangelize  all  nations. 
Its  model  men  were  men  of  faith  and  action. 
Through  that  apostolic  Iliad,  the  great  apostle 
seems  to  fly  like  a  thunder-bolt,  kindling  and  con- 
suming! At  Lystra  rebuking  the  deluded  wor- 
shippers ;  at  Jerusalem  confronting  the  Pharisee, 
and  the  rulers  on  the  castle-stairs — at  Caesarea 
startling  Agrippa  on  his  tribunal — at  Rome 
preaching  the  reviled  gospel,  both  in  his  "  own 
hired  house,"  and  in  Caesar's  palace —  he  is  every- 
where the  believer  in  full  action,  with  the  heart  to 
feel  and  the  hand  to  do.  And  such  have  been 
God's  true  evangelists  ever  since.  Such  were 
Baxter,  the  indefatigable  pastor,  Edwards,  the 
perpetual  thinker,  Neander,  the  perpetual  student, 


76  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Owen,  the  perpetual  writer,  Knox,  the  untiring 
reformer,  Whitefield,  the  untiring  preacher,  and 
Chalmers,  who  appears  to  have  been  pastor,  preacher, 
writer,  thinker  and  reformer,  all  in  one. 

A  faith  sound  as  that  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly will  not  save  the  dying  world  around  us,  unless 
it  flows  out  into  action. 

LXXXIV. 

In  Great  Britain  no  shipmaster  is  permitted  to 
use  an  anchor  which  has  not  been  tested  and 
stamped  with  a  government  mark.  If  we  wish  to 
know  whether  our  faith  has  the  King's  mark  on 
it,  we  must  examine  his  Word.  A  spurious  faith, 
full  of  flaws,  cannot  be  relied  on  in  a  hurricane. 
The  metal  of  our  faith,  so  to  speak,  must  be  from 
God's  Scripture-foundry.  It  must  be  lowered  with 
entire  trust  upon  God,  and  not  upon  ourselves. 
It  must  fasten  itself  to  the  everlasting  veracity, 
and  power,  and  love,  of  the  Almighty.  Every 
link  in  the  chain  cable  is  a  divine  promise.  When 
in  the  darkest  night  we  heave  out  this  anchor  we 

may  wait  confidently  for  the  dawning  of  the  day. 

• 

LXXXV. 

Faith  has  its  telescopes  by  which  it  penetrates 
into  the  unseen  worlds  as  distinctly  as  the  tubes 
of  the  astronomers  take  observations  of  the  transit 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  77 

of  Venus.  The  holier  our  lives,  the  clearer  will 
be  our  spiritual  vision.  Sin  blurs  and  bedims  the 
glass.  If  the  heart  be  "single"  to  the  glory  of 
God,  and  longs  to  do  his  will,  our  whole  being 
shall  be  "filled  with  light." 

LXXXVI. 

God  often  strikes  away  our  props  to  bring  us 
down  upon  his  mighty  arms.  What  strength  and 
peace  it  gives  us  to  feel  them  underneath  us !  Far 
as  we  may  sink  we  cannot  go  further  down  than 
those  stretched  arms.  There  we  stop ;  there  we 
rest ;  and  the  everlasting  arms  not  only  sustain  us, 
but  carry  us  along,  as  on  eagle's  wings.  Faith  is 
just  the  clinging  of  my  weak  soul  to  the  Omnipo- 
tent Jesus.  Its  constant  cry  is, 

I  am  weak,  but  Thou  art  mighty, 
Hold  me  with  Thy  powerful  hand. 

LXXXVII. 

The  pathway  of  life  has  many  a  lion  in  it,  and 
our  success  and  happiness  depend  very  much  on 
the  way  we  deal  with  them.  Nearly  all  the  strong- 
est men  in  our  cities  had  to  encounter  early  poverty 
and  hardships ;  their  limited  education  was  got  at 
the  cost  of  self-denial  and  with  no  little  trouble, 
but  learning  was  all  the  sweeter  when  they  found 
it  in  the  carcass  of  the  slain  lion.  Had  there  been 


78  RIGHT  TO  TUE  POINT. 

no  Samson  in  all  such  young  men  they  would  have 
been  frightened  by  discouragement  into  a  helpless 
obscurity.  One  of  the  Christian  leaders  in  New 
York  tells  us  that  he  never  has  found  greater  enjoy- 
ment in  his  fine  library  than  he  found  in  the  second- 
hand book  which  he  purchased  with  his  first 
shilling  and  read  in  his  father's  rustic  cabin. 
Every  good  enterprise  has  its  lions.  Things  that 
cost  little,  count  little.  When  a  handful  of  lignum- 
vit&  Christians  undertake  to  build  up  a  mission 
school  in  some  wretched  neighborhood,  or  to  build 
a  church  in  some  destitute  region,  they  find  diffi- 
culties "  roaring  against  them  "  like  the  wild  beast 
in  the  vineyard  of  Timnath.  These  obstacles 
endear  their  work  to  them.  There  is  a  spiritual 
enjoyment  in  the  after  results  of  their  hard  toils 
that  they  never  could  have  known  if  their  work 
had  been  easier.  One  reason  why  the  Gospel  is 
valued  so  little  by  luxurious  dwellers  in  large  cities 
is  that  it  costs  them  nothing  to  get  it.  A  sermon 
heard  in  a  frontier  clapboard  church  ( whose  erec- 
tion cost  sharp  sacrifice)  after  a  ten-mile  ride  over 
a  country  road,  has  some  honey  in  it  to  a  hungry 
Christian.  Reader,  did  you  ever  face  a  lion  in 
undertaking  the  spiritual  reformation  of  some  hard- 
ened sinner?  And  had  you  ever  a  sweeter  banquet 
of  soul  than  when  you  saw  him  sitting  beside  you 

at  Christ's   table? Life's    sweetest 

enjoyments  are  gathered  from  the  victories  of  faith. 
Out  of  slain  lions  come  forth  meat ;  out  of  conquered 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  79 

foes  to  the  soul  come  its  sweetest  honeycombs.  One 
of  the  joys  of  Heaven  will  be  the  remembrance  of 
victories  won  during  our  earthly  conflicts. 

LXXXVIII. 

The  real  essence  of  faith  is  the  entire  letting-go 
of  self,  and  the  cleaving  to  Jesus  only.  To  put  self 
clean  down,  even  to  the  abandoning  of  any  self- 
righteous  idea  of  saving  ourselves  by  prayer,  church- 
going,  or  any  other  good  act,  is  essential  to  a  right 
trust  in  Christ.  In  homely  phrase,  you  cannot 
hang  your  hope  on  two  hooks  at  once.  Nothing  on 
myself ;  everything  on  Christ — must  be  your  motto. 

LXXXIX. 

The  man  who  is  climbing  the  Alps  must  not 
look  too  far  ahead,  or  it  will  tire  him  ;  he  must  not 
look  back  or  he  gets  dizzy  ;  he  has  but  to  follow  his 
guide,  and  set  his  foot  on  the  right  spot  before  him. 
This  is  the  way  we  must  let  Christ  lead,  and  have 
him  so  close  to  us  also,  that  it  will  be  but  a  short 
view  to  behold  him. 


XC. 


No  vessel  can  sink  or  founder  with  Jesus  on 
board.  No  struggling  soul,  no  struggling  church, 
no  struggliug  work  of  reform,  ever  went  down  when 


8D  BIGHT  TO  THE  PO/JVT. 

the  Son  of  God  had  set  his  divine  foot  within  it. 
Let  the  storms  rage,  if  God  sends  them.  Christ 
can  pilot  you  through.  Let  the  midnight  hours  of 
darkness  come,  if  Jesus  only  comes  through  them 
with  the  hailing  signal,  It  is  I !  There  may  be  a 
night  coming  soon  on  some  of  you,  wh.en  heart  and 
flesh  shall  fail  you,  and  the  only  shore  ahead  is  the 
shore  of  eternity.  If  Jesus  is  only  in  the  bark,  be 
not  afraid.  Like  glorious  John  Wesley,  you  will 
be  able  to  cry  aloud  in  the  dying  hour,  "  Best  of 
all,  Christ  is  with  me !  best  of  all,  Christ  is  with 
me!" 

XCI. 

This  divine  doctrine  of  trust  is  a  wonderfully 
restful  one  to  weary  disciples.  It  takes  the  tire 
out  of  the  heart.  As  the  infant  drops  over  on  its 
mother's  bosom  into  soft  repose,  so  Faith  rests  its 
weary  head  on  Jesus.  He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep, 
so  that  they  may  wake  up  refreshed  for  their 
appointed  work. 

XCII. 

When  four  rowers  are  in  a  boat,  with  their  backs 
toward  the  bow,  their  simple  office  is  to  pull  the 
oars.  The  steersman's  offce  is  to  look  ahead  and 
work  the  helm.  The  moment  that  the  rower  turns 
steersman  and  tries  to  look  over  his  shoulder  or 
outpull  his  fellow  oarsman,  the  boat  loses  headway. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  81 

So  you  and  I  are  placed  with  our  backs  to  the 
future.  In  our  hands  are  the  oars  of  Christian 
endeavor.  Let  God  steer  the  boat  and  let  us  attend 
to  the  oars.  The  sweetest  thought  to  every  true 
believer  is  this  —  My  Master  is  at  the  helm.  He 
knoweth  the  way  that  I  take.  My  times  are  in  his 
hand.  It  is  not  in  me  to  direct  my  steps.  His 
grace  is  sufficient  for  me.  I  will  trust. 

XCIII. 

Faith  without  works  is  dead.  We  may  be  in  the 
life-boat,  but  the  life-boat  is  not  Heaven.  There  is 
many  a  hard  tug  at  the  oar,  many  a  night  of  tem- 
pest, many  a  danger  from  false  lights,  and  many  a 
scud  under  bare  poles  (with  pride's  top-hammer 
all  gone )  before  we  reach  the  shining  shore. 
To  the  last  moment  on  earth  our  salvation  depends 
on  complete  submission  to  Jesus.  Without  him, 
nothing ;  with  him,  all  things. 

XCIV. 

Some  unquestionable  Christians  worry  them- 
selves out  of  all  peace  and  usefulness  by  a  tortur- 
ing habit  of  questioning  their  own  faith  and  the 
reality  of  their  own  conversion  ;  they  count  the 
beats  of  their  own  pulse  until  they  get  to  be  mor- 
bid hypochondriacs. 

Brother,  if  you  have  taken  Christ  at  his  word, 


82  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

and  surrendered  your  soul  to  his  keeping,  and 
your  life  to  his  ordering,  do  not  lie  awake  one 
moment  about  your  title-deed  to  Heaven.  Go  about 
your  life-work,  and  do  it  as  thoroughly  and  con- 
scientiously and  cheerfully  as  Christ  enables  you 
by  his  imparted  grace.  He  is  responsible  for  you 
just  as  long  as  you  abide  in  Him. 

XCV. 

Faith  is  cleaving  to  Christ.  The  value  of  it  is 
not  in  the  mere  act  of  cleaving,  but  in  the  glorious 
sufficiency  of  the  One  to  whom  we  cling. 

XCVI. 

Assurance  of  salvation  by  the  Son  of  God  is  no 
modern  discovery.  It  is  not  a  new  invention, 
"  patented  "  by  any  school  of  Bible  students.  It  is 
as  old  as  the  Cross  of  Calvary. 

XCVII. 

"  He  that  keepeth  my  words  loveth  me."  If  we 
look  carefully  into  this  short  sentence  we  find  it 
epitomizes  both  faith  and  works,  both  the  inward 
heart  and  the  outward  conduct.  Love  is  an  emo- 
tion of  the  heart.  It  is  an  inward  affection  and  a 
principle.  To  love  Jesus  requires  a  change  of 
heart.  No  unconverted  person  in  his  native  state 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  83 

of  depravity  loves  Jesus  Christ.  The  beginning  of 
a  trust  and  love  for  Jesus  is  the  first  work  of  con- 
version. And  the  proof  of  such  a  heart-love  is  to 
be  found  in  the  endeavor  to  keep  Christ's  com- 
mandments. /  In  other  words,  the  obedience  to  what 
Jesus  say's  to  us  is  the  grandest  and  strongest  evi- 
dence of  the  new  birth.  /  If  we  sincerely  love  our 
Redeemer  we  will  cherish  his  words  and  live  and 
act  in  constant  submission  to  his  will.  To  have 
the  very  words  of  the  Son  of  God  carved  as  it  were 
upon  our  consciences  and  then  to  carve  out  the 
daily  life  in  conformity  and  likeness  to  these 
heavenly  injunctions,  this  is  the  very  bean  ideal  of 
true  religion.  He  who  attains  nearest  unto  that 
has  reached  the  "higher  life."^ 

XCVIII. 

Loyalty  to  the  principles  of  God's  Word,  loyalty 
to  the  everlasting  right,  must  be  embedded  in  the 
conscience  and  control  the  conduct,  or  else  we 
drift  upon  the  rocks.  It  is  not  strength  of  intellect 
that  saves  a  man,  or  the  surroundings  of  society,  or 
alliance  with  a  church,  or  even  orthodoxy  of  belief. 
All  these  have  proved  but  cables  of  straw  attached 
to  anchors  of  clay.  We  must  have  conscience 
taught  of  God  and  held  by  God,  or  we  drift  upon 
the  lee  shore.  God  never  insures  a  man  except 
while  his  anchor  is  fastened  to  the  divine  principles 
of  right,  with  the  cable  of  practical  obedience. 


84  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

XCIX. 

Obedience  is  the  crowning  grace  of  a  follower  of 
Christ.  Nay,  it  is  the  very  essence  of  holiness. 

C. 

Prompt  obedience  honors  God.  Prompt  obedi- 
ence puts  the  soul  immediately  within  the  Almighty 
hold.  Prompt  obedience  saves. 


CI. 


When  Jesus  calls,  your  salvation  depends  on 
prompt  obedience.  It  was  short  work  with  Peter 
when  Christ  said  to  him  "  Follow  Me."  Again  was 
it  short  work  with  him  when  he  was  sinking  in 
the  waves  and  cried  out  "  Lord,  save  me."  It  was 
short  work  with  the  Philippian  jailer  when  he 
heard  Paul's  directions  and  threw  himself  into  the 
Saviour's  arms  on  the  spot.  All  the  Bible  narra- 
tives (except  that  of  Nicodemus),  describe  a  prompt 
action  where  salvation  was  secured.  Prompt  obe- 
dience puts  you  into  the  omnipotent  hold  of  Christ, 
and  none  shall  be  able  to  pluck  you  out  of  his 
hands.  Prompt  obedience  saves/ 

As  long  as  you  refuse  to  yield  to  Christ,  he  can- 
not reconstruct  your  heart,  any  more  than  you  can 
liberate  a  canary-bird  which  refuses  to  come  out  of 
the  cage-door,  and  which  flies  back  as  often  as  you 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  85 

take  it  out.  God  has  endowed  you  with  the  power 
of  choice.  You  are  a  responsible  moral  agent ; 
and  if  the  Holy  Spirit  offers  to  renew  your  heart, 
you  must  yield  to  him,  or  be  lost. 

CIL 

True  godliness  of  life  and  the  true  enjoyment  of 
life  both  depend  upon  a  hearty,  conscientious  obedi- 
ence to  Christ's  commandments.  No  man  can  pos- 
sibly serve  two  opposing  masters. 

cm. 

The  essence  of  all  piety  is  obedience  to  God  It 
is  the  eternal  law  of  right  put  into  daily  practice. 

CIV. 

Sin  can  make  us  suffer,  but  it  never  can  give  us 
solid  satisfaction.  It  can  torment,  but  it  cannot 
tranquilize. 

Obedience  to  Christ  is  a  wonderful  tranquilizer. 
Rest  to  a  true  Christion  is  simply  the  unhindered 
permission  to  do  his  perfect  will.  Dam  up  a  clear, 
swift-flowing  brook,  and  it  foams  with  anger ;  pull 
away  the  obstruction  and  it  joyfully  darts  along  its 
bright  course  wherever  its  silver  feet  shall  lead  it. 
Peace  is  not  dull  stagnation  ;  it  is  the  deep  strong 
current  of  a  soul  flowing  in  harmony  with  God. 


86  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Until  the  soul  throws  itself  down  submissively 
before  Christ,  ready  to  accept  and  obey  him  —  come 
joy  or  sorrow,  come  pain  or  pleasure — there  can 
be  no  conversion  unto  eternal  life. 


CV. 


Conversion  is  rather  a  planting  time  with  a  soul 
than  its  "harvest."  It  is  a  beginning  of  better 
things  ;  not  a  consummation  completed. 

Conversion  is  the  act  of  joining  our  hands  to  the 
pierced  hand  of  the  crucified  Saviour.  The  new 
life  begins  with  the  taking  Christ's  hand  and  his 
taking  hold,  in  infinite  love,  of  our  weak  hands. 
All  the  strength  which  any  converted  soul  possesses 
is  gotten  through  this  contact  and  union  with  Christ 
the  Omnipotent. 

It  is  not  the  opinion,  it  is  the  act  which  saves 
your  soul. 

CVL 

Life  is  a  series  of  steps.  Each  step  counts. 
Coming  to  Jesus  is  a  single  step.  It  may  be  the 
work  of  a  moment.  It  may  turn  on  a  small  pivot. 

When  Jesus  commands  a  soul  to  follow  him,  he 
furnishes  not  only  the  test  of  faith,  but  the  touch- 
stone of  character.  These  two  are  comprehensive 
words  —  "follow  me"  —  were  Christ's  most  com- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  87 

mon  formula  to  those  yet  outside  of  the  kingdom. 
They  were  at  once  his  awakening  appeal ;  his 
direction  to  the  inquiring  heart,  and  his  "confes- 
sion of  faith  "  and  rule  of  daily  conduct. 

CVII. 

Conversion  is  essentially  a  change  of  heart. 
Sometimes  it  is  described  as  a  change  of  owner- 
ship. God  comes  to  a  wayward,  disobedient  man, 
and  in  a  tone  of  authority  and  love  says  to  him, 
"My  son,  give  Me  thy  heart."  God  addresses  this 
short  sentence,  one  of  the  weightiest  ever  uttered 
both  as  a  demand  and  an  invitation.  He  has  a  right  to 
make  the  demand,  and  his  infinite  love  prompts 
the  invitation.  In  the  human  body  the  heart  is  the 
central  vital  organ.  By  the  play  of  its  valves  as 
by  the  play  of  a  piston-rod,  all  the  blood  in  the 
system  is  sent  coursing  through  veins  and  arteries, 
from  head  to  foot.  Once  in  every  four  minutes 
each  drop  of  blood  passes  through  this  central 
organ.  The  strokes  of  its  piston  reach  one  hundred 
thousand  in  every  twenty-four  hours.  The  cur- 
rents driven  forth  at  every  stroke  carry  heat, 
activity,  and  vital  force  to  the  furthest  extremity 
of  the  frame.  From  this  wonderful  bodily  organ 
the  work  is  transferred  to  the  mental  and  spiritual 
nature.  That  inward  power  which  drives  the 
current  of  thought,  feelings,  affections  and  volition 
is  called  in  the  Bible,  the  "  heart."  It  really  means 


88  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

the  whole  inward  life.  If  God  gets  the  heart  com- 
pletely he  gets  the  whole  man.  Give  me  thy  heart, 
means,  give  me  thyself. 

CVIII. 

Do  not  say  you  cannot  regenerate  your  own 
heart.  God's  spirit  can.  He  offers  to  do  it.  He 
pleads  with  you  to  let  him  do  it.  Cooperate  with 
the  loving  and  all-powerful  Spirit.  Pray  for  his 
help.  No  farmer  pretends  that  he  can  control 
such  forces  of  Nature  (or  Providence)  or  sunshine 
and  rain,  but  he  can  and  does  cooperate  with 
these  forces,  by  plowing  and  sowing  in  the  due 
season. 

You  cannot  control  God,  but  you  can  let  him 
control  you,  and  that  is  all  he  asks. 

CIX. 

If  the  owner  of  a  garden  allowed  it  to  be  over- 
grown with  nettles  and  Canada  thistles,  he  may 
well  say  that  his  garden  is  a  dead  loss.  When  a 
human  soul  grows  such  weeds  as  selfishness,  and 
covetousness,  and  pride,  and  enmity,  to  Christ,  it 
is  a  lost  soul.  A  future  continuance  of  this  con- 
dition would  not  be  Heaven,  it  would  be  Hell. 
But  if  the  garden  were  cleansed  of  the  weeds,  and 
made  rich  with  vegetables  and  fruits,  and  fragrant 
with  flowers,  it  would  be  saved.  Precisely  this 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  89 

process  of  rescuing  a  human  heart  and  human  life 
from  the  worthlessness  of  sin  and  devoting  it  to 
the  obedient  service  of  God,  is  what  is  signified 
by  conversion.  Unless  the  soul  is  thus  converted 
it  cannot  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.  King 
Charles  —  the  Stout  —  sent  a  messenger  to  Notke, 
a  pious  abbot,  to  inquire  how  he  should  save  his 
soul.  The  messenger  found  the  abbot  working  in 
his  garden.  "Tell  his  Majesty,"  said  Notke,  "to 
do  just  what  I  am  doing.  Tell  him  that  he  must 
pull  up  his  vices,  and  begin  to  grow  such  graces  as 
God  requires." 

The  foremost  duty  of  every  one  of  us  is  to  save 
our  souls.  To  gain  the  whole  world  would  be  a 
wretched  equivalent  for  the  loss  of  a  good  con- 
science, the  favor  of  God,  and  everlasting  life. 
The  soul  must  be  first. 


CX. 


Go  into  a  vast  iron  foundry,  and  witness  the  ex- 
traordinary processes  by  which  fire  conquers  the 
solid  metal  until  it  consents  to  be  cast,  or  stamped, 
or  rolled  into  the  form  which  the  artificer  desires. 
This  is  a  type  of  God's  moral  foundry,  where  an 
obdurate  heart  is  first  so  softened  as  to  feel  the 
truth  ;  then  to  weep  over  sin  ;  then  to  be  ductile 
and  malleable  ;  then  so  flexible  as  to  be  "  formed 
anew  "into  a  shape  that  pleases  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  This  melting  process  is  wrought  by  the 


00  1U(41IT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Holy  Ghost.  Just  what  the  fire  accomplishes  in 
the  foundry  the  infinite  Spirit  of  love  accomplishes 
in  a  convicted  soul. 

CXI. 

Oh,  how  rich  God  is !  He  does  not  need  to 
copy  himself.  He  loveth  to  please  his  own  sov- 
ereign skill.  Some  hearts  he  opens  with  the 
gentlest  touch  of  his  love ;  others  he  pryeth  open 
with  the  heavy  bar  of  arousing  judgments.  Some 
sinners  are  sweetly  and  quietly  won  to  Christ ; 
others  are  driven  to  him  through  the  hail-storm  of 
threatenings  and  the  thunderings  of  an  upbraid- 
ing conscience. 

CXII. 

Many  a  genuine  conversion  has  been  attended 
by  anguish  of  deep  conviction  and  the  rapture  of  a 
sudden  joy,  but  we  doubt  whether  a  majority  of 
the  best  Christians  now  living  had  precisely  this 
experience.  For  a  sinner  to  wait  for  such  an  ex- 
perience or  to  demand  it  from  God  before  he  will 
obey  the  divine  voice  is  both  madness  and  pre- 
sumption. 

CXIII. 

There  are  few  startling  religious  experiences 
recorded  in  the  New  Testament.  There  is,  indeed, 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  91 

one  case  of  awakening  which  has  much  that  was 
dramatic  in  it — the  case  of  the  jailer  at  Philippi. 
There  was  one  most  extraordinary  conversion,  as 
by  a  lightning  flash,  on  the  highway  to  Damascus. 
Paul  was  the  most  extraordinary  human  character 
in  the  Early  Church.  His  regeneration  was  accom- 
plished by  some  wonderful  phenomena.  But  if 
there  had  been  no  other  awakenings  recorded 
except  the  one  by  an  earthquake,  and  the  one  by  a 
"light  from  Heaven"  and  a  supernatural  voice,  we 
ordinary  people  might  be  perplexed  and  dis- 
couraged. We  might  be  left  to  wait  —  and  to 
wait  in  vain  for  something  "sensational"  to  come 
upon  us. 

Instead  of  that,  we  find  that  the  spiritual  trans- 
formations described  in  the  New  Testament  were 
commonly  produced  in  the  most  quiet  normal  way 
—  by  calm  appeals  to  the  reason  and  the  con- 
science. 

CXIV. 

Many  'Christians  cannot  fix  the  precise  date 
of  their  conversion.  The  new  life  came  to  them 
just  as  the  dawn  comes  —  darkness  slowly  giving 
place  to  steel-gray,  and  the  steel-gray  to  silver, 
and  the  silver  reddening  into  ruddy  gold  —  and  all 
this  done  so  quietly  and  so  steadily  that  we  were 
unable  to  fix  the  precise  birth-moment  of  the 
day. 


92  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXV. 

"With  the  Jicart  man  believeth  unto  righteous- 
ness." This  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  a 
man  is  justified  before  God  by  faith  alone,  and 
saving  faith  is  an  act  of  the  heart.  Belief  in  Bible 
truth  is  not  enough.  Trust  in  the  divine  testi- 
mony is  not  enough.  Faith,  in  order  to  secure  our 
salvation,  must  go  down  to  the  roots  of  the  heart ; 
it  must  take  hold  of  the  affections,  subdue  the  will, 
and  change  all  the  tastes,  desires,  and  purposes. 
Faith  is  really  the  act  of  trust  by  which  one  person 
(the  sinner)  commits  himself  to  another  Person, 
who  is  the  Saviour.  A  personal  relation  springs 
up  between  you  and  Jesus  Christ.  You  surrender 
your  self-will  and  agree  to  submit  to  his  will  ;  you 
surrender  the  sins  that  you  have  loved  in  order  to 
please  him ;  you  accept  his  commandments  as 
your  rule  of  conduct ;  you  consent  to  Christ's 
reign  in  your  heart.  Christ  then  begins  to  live  in 
your  heart.  A  vital  union  is  thus  made  between 
person  and  Person,  between  your  soul  and  your 
Saviour ;  this  union  is  the  very  core  and  kernel  of 
saving  faith.  This  constitutes  true  conversion. 

Bear  in  mind  that  the  heart  is  the  fountain-head, 
and  the  cleansing,  purifying,  changing  work  must 
be  done  there.  If  that  fountain  be  full  of  new  and 
godly  affections  and  desires,  it  will  cut  a  channel 
for  itself,  and  flow  out  into  a  stream  of  daily 
religion.  The  fuller  the  fountain,  the  larger  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  93 

stream.  The  reason  why  many  church- members 
carry  such  a  small  "  head  of  water  "  is  that  the 
heart-fountain  is  so  wretchedly  scanty.  You  can- 
not draw  a  river  of  godly  activities  out  of  a  bucket- 
ful of  love  to  Christ.  The  fountain  must  dis- 
charge a  strong  current  in  order  to  cut  a  deep 
channel  and  to  keep  it  full-banked  with  a  steady 
stream.  Conversion  is  the  Holy  Spirit's  change 
of  the  fountain-head.  The  channel-cutting  is 
public  confession  of  Christ.  Keeping  the  channel 
full  is  the  life  of  godliness. 

CXVI. 

Genuine  conversion  brings  the  soul  into  a  living 
connection  with  Christ.  He  is  the  Vine,  we  are 
the  branches  ;  and  as  the  flow  of  vital  sap  is  essen- 
tial to  the  verdure  and  the  fruitfulness  of  each 
tendril,  so  must  the  Christian  draw  his  daily 
supply  of  strength  from  him  who  is  the  Life. 

CXVII. 

There  is  a  right  way  and  a  wrong  way  of  look- 
ing at  almost  everything.  To  a  man  who  has  no 
eye  for  beauty,  one  of  Claude's  landscapes  is 
merely  so  much  paint  and  linen  canvass ;  to 
another  it  is  a  master-piece  of  golden  sunlight, 
bathing  field  and  forest  with  its  glory.  .  .  The 
difference  between  the  thoughtless  sinner  and  the 


94  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

same  person  after  he  is  converted  is,  that  he  looks 
at  Christ  with  a  new  eye,  and  sees  him  to  be  the 
very  Saviour  that  he  needs. 

CXVIIT. 

How  am  I  to  feel  and  what  am  I  to  do,  if  I 
become  a  genuine  Christian  ?  What  are  solid 
evidences  that  I  have  come  into  the  fold  ? 

Search  yourself  honestly,  thoroughly  ;  dig  down 
deep,  clear  down  under  mere  emotions,  and  lay 
your  foundations  on  the  solid  rock.  To  shed  tears, 
to  "rise  for  prayer"  in  a  meeting,  to  go  into  an 
inquiry-room,  to  feel  happy,  are  not  in  themselves 
Bible  tests  of  regeneration.  Our  Lord  struck 
down  miles  deeper  than  all  these  when  he  said, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  The  new  birth  is  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  light.  The  prodigal  son  in  the  par- 
able had  been  dead,  and  was  alive  again.  Being 
"found"  and  coming  to  life  are  described  as  the 
same  thing.  If  you  are  alive,  you  ought  to 
know  it. 

Then  probe  yourself  with  such  close  questions 
as  these  :  Have  I  begun  to  hate  the  sins  I  used  to 
love,  and  have  I  given  up  the  practices  which  the 
Bible  and  my  conscience  condemn  ?  Do  I  pray 
earnestly  to  be  delivered  from  all  sin,  and  watch 
against  it  ?  Have  I  submitted  my  will  to  Jesus 
Christ,  to  let  him  rule  me  and  own  me,  and  guide 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  05 

me?  Do  I  distrust  myself  entirely,  and  trust 
Jesus  Christ  only  ?  Do  I  feel  a  real  satisfaction  in 
doing  right  and  trying  to  please  God  ?  Have  I 
begun  to  feel  such  an  interest  in  others  that  I  want 
to  do  them  good  ?  While  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
working  on  me,  do  I  work  with  the  Holy  Spirit  ? 
Do  I  honestly  endeavor  to  live  as  I  pray  ? 

If  you  can  give  the  sincere  "yes"  of  your  con- 
science and  your  conduct  to  such  questions  as 
these,  you  cannot  be  mistaken  in  regarding  your- 
self as  a  converted  man  or  woman.  These  are 
Bible-evidences,  and  when  the  Scriptural  die  ans- 
wers to  the  stamp  on  the  coin  of  character,  then 
there  is  a  "witness  of  the  Spirit"  that  the  work 
is  of  God.  If  you  find  such  evidences  as  these, 
then  you  may  thank  the  Lord  with  all  humility 
that  Jesus  has  found  you,  and  that  you  have  found 
Jesus.  The  Shepherd  knoweth  his  sheep,  but  so 
does  the  sheep  know  his  Shepherd,  and  followeth 
Him. 

CXIX. 

Conversion  is  a  process  somewhat  similar  to 
what  is  seen  on  May-day  in  our  towns  —  when 
houses  change  occupants.  A  converted  heart  ban- 
ishes its  old  tenant,  Satan,  and  welcomes  its  new 
tenant,  Christ  Jesus.  A  thorough  cleansing  is 
needful  ere  the  Lord  of  purity  will  condescend  to 
make  it  his  dwelling-place.  Every  room  must  be 


CO  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

purified,  and  set  apart  to  a  new  use.  Memory 
must  introduce  its  store  of  Scripture-truth,  and 
open  its  record-book  of  mercies.  The  imagination 
must  take  down  its  sensuous  and  impure  pictures, 
and  adorn  the  walls  with  those  copied  from  the 
Great  Master.  Into  the  inner  chamber  of  the 
affections,  faith  must  come  and  set  up  her  house- 
hold altar.  The  windows  of  that  room  should 
open  towards  the  sunrising.  The  key  of  this 
inner  apartment  in  every  regenerated  heart  belongs 
to  the  blessed  Jesus.  "  I  will  come  in,  and  sup 
with  thee,  and  thou  with  me" — are  the  gracious 
words  with  which  he  often  enters. 

cxx. 

Just  as  a  liberal  father  establishes  his  son  in 
commercial  business  by  furnishing  him  a  certain 
sum  for  his  capital,  so  our  Heavenly  Father  gives 
the  new  heart  as  a  Christian's  capital.  This  is  the 
starting  point.  As  soon  as  converting  grace  enters 
the  soul,  its  condition  changes.  At  that  moment, 
by  that  act,  the  seeking  sinner  becomes  the  for- 
given, the  accepted,  the  adopted  heir  of  God.  And 
the  religious  principle  then  implanted  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  the  spiritual  capital  with  which  the  new- 
made  heir  begins  his  stewardship.  Sometimes  this 
capital  is  furnished  in  childhood  or  in  early  youth, 
and  then  a  long  "  threescore  and  ten  "  witnesses 
the  growth  of  that  soul  into  vast  possessions 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  97 

Sometimes  a  person  begins  late  in  life  ;  and  then 
like  those  who  mistake  their  secular  callings  and 
only  get  hold  of  the  right  occupation  at  forty,  he 
seldom  becomes  a  spiritual  millionnaire.  In  fact,  he 
does  not  get  far  beyond  his  original  capital.  It  is 
hard  work  to  make  a  first-class  Christian  out  of  an 
aged  sinner.  Old  habits  of  sin  have  become  invet- 
erate. The  best  soil  of  the  heart  has  been  worn 
out  in  growing  enormous  crops  of  tares.  There  is 
a  want  of  spring  and  pliability  in  an  old  man's 
temperament  ;  he  does  not  readily  adapt  himself  to 
new  positions  and  new  duties.  As  the  merchants 
who  have  accumulated  the  most  gigantic  fortunes 
are  commonly  those  who  began  to  be  rich  before 
thirty,  so  the  richest  Christians  are  usually  to  be 
found  among  the  converts  of  the  Bible  class  and 
the  Sabbath  school.  God  reserves  the  highest 
reward  to  those  who  enlist  the  earliest  and  serve 
the  hardest  and  longest. 

CXXL 

Christ  is  the  purifier  of  the  heart.  He  who 
walks  in  constant  fellowship  with  Jesus  hath  the 
clean  heart  and  the  holy  life.  And  an  active, 
prayerful,  loving  mind,  teeming  with  busy  plans  of 
usefulness  and  swarming  out  into  deeds  of  daily 
beneficence,  is  a  hive  of  blessings,  not  only  to  its 
possessor,  but  to  all  who  partake  of  its  stores  of 
honey. 


98  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXXII. 

He  can  never  be  rich  towards  God  who  despises 
a  penny-worth  of  true  piety.  Holiness  is  just  the 
living  to  the  Lord  in  the  least  things  as  well  as  the 
greatest;  for  graces  can  only  be  gathered  one  by 
one. 

I  count  this  thing  to  be  grandly  true  ; 
That  a  righteous  deed  is  a  step  toward  God, 
Lifting  the  soul  from  its  common  clod 
To  a  purer  air,  and  a  clearer  view. 

Heaven  is  not  reached  by  a  single  bound 
But  we  build  the  ladder  by  which  we  rise 
From  the  lowly  earth  to  the  vaulted  skies, 
And  we  mount  to  its  summit  round  by  round. 

CXXIII. 

Instead  of  picketing  the  whole  road  to  Heaven 
by  sharp  prohibitions,  the  Word  of  God  puts  faith 
at  the  entrance  gate,  and  lines  the  pathway  with 
the  rewards  of  obedience,  and  makes  crosses  turn 
to  crowns,  and  keeps  in  view  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  Before  us  ever 
walks  our  Lord  and  Master.  His  winning  com- 
mand is,  "  Learn  of  me."  His  promise  is  that  we 
too  shall  be  anointed  with  the  oil  of  gladness,  if  we 
turn  to  righteousness  and  abhor  iniquity.  And  to 
those  who  fulfil  these  two  tests  an  abundant  en- 
trance shall  be  ministered  unto  Heaven. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  99 

CXXIV. 

Holiness  is  constant  agreement  with  God.  It 
is  the  agreement  of  love  deeper  even  and  sweeter 
than  the  most  unbroken  wedlock.  From  this  har- 
mony of  soul  with  the  Divine  Will  flows  a  great 
deep,  broad  river  of  peace,  which  passeth  all  un- 
lerstanding  and  fathoming.  This  stream  grows 
deeper  and  wider  until  like  an  Amazon  it  empties 
into  the  ocean  of  eternal  love.  The  holy  believer 
who  accepts  God's  promises  more  readily  than  the 
best  government  bonds,  who  shapes  his  life  in 
conformity  with  Christ,  who  keeps  his  soul's  win- 
^dowsopen  towards  the  sun-rising,  who  makes  even 
a  cross  the  ladder  for  a  climb  into  a  higher  fellow- 
ship with  Jesus,  who  realizes  that  just  before  him 
lies  the  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory  — 
cannot  be  made  a  sour  or  peevish  or  melancholy 
man  by  any  outward  circumstances. 

The  holy-minded  Rutherford  of  Scotland,  wrote 
most  of  his  immortal  "  Letters  "  within  the  cell  of 
a  martyr's  prison.  They  read  like  leaves  from  the 
tree  of  life,  floated  down  on  sunbeams.  "  Come,  O 
my  well-beloved  !  "  he  exclaims  ;  "  move  fast,  that 
we  may  meet  at  the  banquet.  I  would  not 
exchange  one  smile  of  Christ's  lovely  face  for 
kingdoms.  There  is  no  house-room  for  crosses  in 
Heaven.  Sorrow  and  the  saints  are  not  married 
together ;  or  if  it  were  so,  Heaven  would  divorce 
them."  The  holiness  of  such  a  man  is  not  the 


100  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

enthusiam  of  a  visionary  or  the  mere  outburst  of 
transient  emotion ;  it  is  the  normal  condition  of 
the  man ;  the  wholeness  of  a  soul  that  has  been 
transformed  by  grace  into  the  likeness  and  the  life 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Keeping  Christ's  commandments 
keeps  the  eye  clear,  and  the  temper  sweet,  and  the 
will  submissive,  and  the  affections  pure ;  in  these 
lies  the  rich  reward. 

Purity  of  soul  is  like  purity  in  gold,  where  the 
hottest  fires  turn  out  the  most  refined  and  precious 
metals  from  the  crucible. 

cxxv. 

The  road  to  Heaven  is  full  of  obstacles.  They 
lie  right  across  every  sinner's  path;  and  like  the 
ice-floes  around  the  boat,  they  will  not  remove 
themselves.  And  the  reason,  my  unconverted 
friends,  why  you  are  not  Christians  to-day,  is  that 
you  have  not  yet  pushed  away  these  obstacles.  An 
energetic  young  man  who  starts  life  with  a  pile  of 
hindrances  at  his  bow,  understands  that  the  battle 
of  life  is  to  smash  through  them.  David  Living- 
stone, when  a  factory-boy  and  fastening  his  school- 
books  on  his  loom  to  study  Latin,  was  practising 
this  process.  Afterwards  on  reaching  Africa,  the 
natives  of  the  coast,  looking  at  his  English  trousers, 
say  jeeringly,  "This  Englishman  hides  himself  in 
bags  to  look  stout;  he  will  soon  give  out."  The 
taunt  fires  Livingstone  with  fresh  determination, 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  101 

and  he  plants  the  signal-lantern  of  the  Gospel  in 
the  heart  of  Ethiopia. 

Persistent  push  is  indispensable  to  your  salvation. 
The  Bible  has  so  much  to  say  about  "looking 
back"  and  faltering  and  "drawing  back  to  perdi- 
tion," because  its  author  knows  the  weak  points  in 
human  nature.  To  enter  into  the  strait  gate 
requires  striving.  To  overcome  obstacles  requires 
might  in  the  inner  man,  and  that  comes  from  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Doctor  Spencer  tells  us  of  a  man 
who  once  came  bursting  into  his  inquiry-meeting  in 
almost  breathless  excitement.  The  poor  man  had 
been  walking  back  and  forth  between  his  own  door 
and  the  meeting,  until  at  last  he  said,  "  I  am  deter- 
mined to  go  into  that  inquiry-room  or  die  in  the 
attempt."  In  that  fierce  fight  with  a  wicked  heart, 
he  not  only  had  to  call  on  God's  help,  but  he  said 
afterwards  —  "  If  you  expect  God  to  help,  you  must 
be  perfectly  decided." 

The  Bible  makes  much  of  determination.  Choose 
ye  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve.  Strive  to  enter 
in  at  the  strait  gate.  See  that  ye  refuse  not  Him 
that  speaketh.  Quench  not  the  Spirit.  Escape 
for  thy  life.  All  this  style  of  admonition  and 
direction  shows  that  the  sinner  has  a  host  of 
obstacles  between  him  and  Heaven ;  and  he  must 
push  his  way  through,  or  perish  forever.  Do  sin- 
ful associates  hinder  you  ?  You  must  turn  away 
from  them,  or  stop  your  ears  to  their  ridicule.  It 
is  better  to  stand  the  laugh  of  fools  in  this  world 


102  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

than  the  frown  of  God  in  the  next.  There  is  not  a 
hindrance  in  your  path  that  cannot  be  swept  away 
at  once,  if  you  are  but  determined,  and  will  but 
invoke  the  aid  of  the  almighty,  all-loving  Jesus. 
What  won't  move,  can  be  made  to. 

CXXVI. 

Beauty  is  that  combination  or  harmony  in  color 
or  in  form  that  gives  pleasure  to  the  eye  of  the 
beholder.  One  of  the  profoundest  prayers  in  the 
Bible  is  that  the  beauty  of  the  Lord  our  God  may 
be  upon  us.  One  of  the  richest  promises  is  that 
"The  meek  will  He  beautify  with  salvation,"  and 
the  loftiest  ideal  set  before  us,  is  the  "beauty  of 
holiness."  When  our  eyes  gaze  upon  our  en- 
throned Saviour  in  his  celestial  splendor,  then  shall 
they  "see  the  King  in  his  beauty."  It  was  the 
ineffable  perfections  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  which 
constitute  not  only  the  glory  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, but  furnishes  the  most  unanswerable  argu- 
ment for  the  essential  dignity  that  was  clothed  in 
human  form. 

CXXVII. 

There  is  a  right  time  as  well  as  a  right  way  to  be 
saved.  And  that  is  the  time  when  the  Saviour 
calls  us.  His  call  is  always  immediate;  i.  e.,  he 
never  appoints  a  certam  day  in  advance ;  and  when 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  103 

that  day  is  reached  we  are  to  repent  and  believe  on 
him.  The  only  adverb  he  employs  in  his  invita- 
tion is  now.  He  is  so  careful  to  keep  us  from  any 
reliance  upon  the  treacherous  to-morrow  that  he 
never  allows  salvation  to  be  possible  for  us  except 
"to-day."  Oh,  that  lying,  cheating,  stealing,  soul- 
killing  to-morrow  !  How  many  has  it  seduced  into 
hell! 

CXXVIII. 

Your  time  is  to-morrow ;  God's  time  is  to-day. 
Unless  you  can  agree  to  his  time  you  are  lost. 

The  omnipotence  of  the  loving  Saviour  is  never 
pledged  to  any  man  who  clings  to  his  sinful  ways, 
or  to  his  self-righteousness,  or  to  his  delusion  that 
to-morrow  will  be  the  best  time  to  repent. 

Christ's  invitations  and  commands  are  all  in  the 
present  tense.  To-day  he  says,  "  Come  unto  me, 
and  ye  shall  have  life."  If  you  persist  in  refusing 
him,  the  dread  day  will  surely  come  when  he  will 
say  "Depart  from  me  ! " 

CXXIX. 

Every  Christian  in  the  world  is  a  Christian 
simply  because  he  accepted  Christ  when  he  was 
offered.  Every  impenitent  sinner  is  yet  one  because 
he  chooses  to  be. 

The   salvation   of  every  soul   is  to  be  settled 


104  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

directly  between  that  soul  and  the  atoning  Jesus. 
Any  person  or  thought  that  comes  between  that 
soul  and  its  Saviour  is  a  fatal  impertinence. 

cxxx. 

The  true  thermometer  of  the  Church,  to  indicate 
its  spiritual  temperature,  is  the  weekly  gathering 
around  the  mercy-seat.  A  cold  prayer  meeting 
marks  a  cold  church.  It  is  at  once  the  cause  and 
the  effect  of  spiritual  declension.  A  prayer  meeting 
"below  freezing  point"  is  a  fatal  indication. 

What  the  steam  cylinder  is  to  the  engine,  that  is 
the  prayer  meeting  to  the  Church. 

CXXXI. 

Prayer  is  the  soul's  telegraph.  Our  messages 
go  to  the  Intercessor  with  the  speed  of  thought, 
swifter  than  the  lightning.  The  blessings  asked 
for  are  often  sent  with  the  promptness  and  velocity 
of  the  Divine  love.  Like  Daniel,  we  have  the 
coveted  answer  at  once.  Sometimes  the  answer  is 
delayed.  Then  is  it  our  duty  to  pray  on  and  to 
wait ;  for  prayers  are  not  commands,  they  are  peti- 
tions. Sometimes  the  reply  comes  in  the  shock  of 
an  unexpected  trial;  it  comes  like  a  death- message 
over  the  wires.  Yet  it  was  not  sent  by  accident  or 
mistake.  The  Master  knows  what  we  need  the 
most,  and  faith  can  only  sob  out  "  Nevertheless, 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  105 

Master,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt."  If  I  put 
my  soul  into  connection  with  Christ  in  fervent, 
believing  prayer,  I  am  only  responsible  for  my 
end  of  the  celestial  telegraph,  and  not  for  that 
end  of  it  that  lieth  in  the  bosom  of  the  redeeming 
love. 

There  is  just  as  clear  an  exercise  of  faith  in 
receiving  a  denial  or  a  trial  without  shrinking,  as 
there  is  in  laying  a  petition  before  God. 

CXXXII. 

That  God  is  the  hearer  of  prayer  who  shall  dare 
doubt  ?  The  sceptic  here  must  seal  his  vision 
"  lest  he  come  to  light "  and  be  persuaded.  He 
must  mutilate  most  sadly  the  narrative  of  God's 
providential  dealings.  He  must  erase  from  his 
Bible  the  animating  record  of  Jacob's  midnight 
struggles,  the  thrilling  scenes  of  Elijah's  wrest- 
lings on  Carmel  and  at  Zarephath,  the  "  evening 
oblations  "  of  Daniel,  and  the  angelic  deliverance  of 
Peter  from  the  prison-cell.  He  must  even  give  the 
lie  to  that  Ineffable  Witness  who  descended  him- 
self from  the  upper  sanctuary,  and  had  there 
beheld  the  gracious  reception  of  his  children's 
prayers,  and  who  has  said  to  all  trembling,  sorrow- 
ing, doubting  saints  — 

"  Ask,  and  ye  shall  receive ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you,"  was 
the  reply. 


106  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXXXIII. 

One  cleansing  of  a  soul  at  the  time  of  regener- 
ation will  no  more  keep  a  Christian  forever  pure, 
than  a  single  ablution  of  his  face  or  form  would 
make  his  body  clean  for  a  life-time.  The  world 
soils  our  souls  every  day.  Each  unholy  thought, 
each  angry  word,  each  act  of  deceit,  each  covetous 
touch  of  gold,  each  insincere,  unbelieving  prayer, 
each  cowardly  desertion  of  duty,  leaves  an  ugly 
spot.  "Create  in  me  a  clean  heart"  is  an  every 
hour's  prayer  for  a  Christian's  whole  life. 

CXXXIV. 

God  does  not  give  us  ready  money.  He  issues 
his  promissory  notes  and  then  pays  them  when 
faith  presents  them  at  the  throne.  Each  one  of  us 
has  a  check-book.  Just  as  every  note  of  the 
Bank  of  England  represents  just  so  much  bullion 
in  its  vaults,  so  a  Christian's  promises  represent 
"the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  His  assets 
are  infinite.  When  we  get  bankrupt  in  duty,  we 
sometimes  talk  as  if  the  divine  grace  had  "  sus- 
pended," or  "  broke  ;  "  but  the  failure  is  with  us. 
We  do  not  go  to  the  throne  and  present  the  prom- 
ises for  help.  Jesus  never  repudiates  ;  he  longs  to 
give  more  than  we  have  faith  to  ask.  If  half  the 
time  spent  in  worrying  over  our  troubles  were  spent 
in  seeking  God's  help,  we  should  sooner  get  relief. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  107 

CXXXV. 

Every  true  life  of  faith  has  scenes  in  it  when 
help  comes  —  as  it  did  to  Elijah  at  the  brook 
Cherith  —  from  an  unexpected  quarter.  The  raven 
lights  at  our  feet  with  food,  and  the  dry  brook 
begins  to  sing  again  with  water.  I  do  not  believe 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  in  the  universe  as  a  neg- 
lected prayer  ever  breathed  by  docile,  submissive 
faith.  Emptied  of  self,  I  am  sure  of  being  filled  by 
Jesus. 

CXXXVI. 

In  drawing  a  check  at  the  bank  we  never  put 
anything  on  the  face  of  the  paper  but  the  sum  of 
money  we  require.  Faith  should  be  equally  sim- 
ple and  concise  when  it  "  draws  "  on  the  Giver  of 
all  grace. 

CXXXVIL 

In  spite  of  seeming  discouragements  we  are 
never  to  grow  faint  in  praying.  An  honest,  perse- 
vering faith  —  a  faith  that  works  for  the  very 
object  that  it  is  praying  for  —  a  faith  that  holds 
on  in  spite  of  rebuffs,  is  the  faith  that  conquers. 
For  genuine  faith  creates  such  a  condition  of 
things  that  it  becomes  wise  for  God  to  grant  what 
might  otherwise  be  denied. 

The  Bible  fairly  blazes  with  the  record  of  tri- 


108  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

umphs  won  by  prayer.  It  was  while  that  prayer 
band  in  the  "  upper  room "  at  Jerusalem  were 
pleading  with  the  Mediator  that  the  baptism  of 
heavenly  fire  descended.  Peter's  friends  could 
not  consent  to  give  him  up  to  a  bloody  death 
without  one  more  effort  at  the  mercy-seat.  They 
made  it  ;  and  he  walked  right  into  their  -prayer 
meeting  a  living  witness  to  the  glorious  truth  that 
God  honors  persevering  faith. 

CXXXVIII. 

God  is  a  supreme  and  glorious  Sovereign  up  on 
his  great  white  throne.  We  are  responsible  free 
agents  down  here  on  his  footstool.  As  a  sover- 
eign he  has  commanded  us  to  pray — to  continue 
in  prayer,  to  pray  without  ceasing.  He  reserves 
to  himself  the  right  to  grant  or  to  refuse  the 
specific  thing  we  pray  for.  It  is  our  right  to  pray, 
and  it  is  God's  right  to  bestow  just  such  answers 
as  his  all-wise  love  may  deem  to  be  for  the  best. 
We  would  define  faith  to  be  that  child-like  temper 
of  the  soul  which  submits  implicitly  to  everything 
which  God  orders,  but  never  submits  to  what  God 
can  better.  If  we  give  up  to  discouragements 
when  we  ought  to  battle  against  them  —  or  if  we 
submit  to  the  absence  of  spiritual  blessings  with- 
out an  earnest  endeavor,  and  a  wrestling  for  them, 
then  are  we  wretched  clods  who  deserve  to  suffer 
the  worst  that  can  befall  us. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT,  109 

A  loving  Father  sits  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
telephone]  if  we  do  our  duty  at  this  end,  the 
response  will  soon  come  back  —  "  Be  it  unto  you 
even  as  ye  wish." 

CXXXIX. 

Depend  upon  it — that  heart  is  in  a  dreary  and 
dangerous  state  which  has  not  had  any  visits  from 
the  lowly  Jesus  for  many  a  long  day. 

A  closet  whose  hinges  are  rusty,  and  whose  cob- 
webbed  silence  is  seldom  broken  by  the  voice  of 
secret  prayer,  will  soon  be  a  haunted  place  for 
evil  spirits  to  hide  in.  "  Search  me,  O  God,  and 
know  my  heart  ;  try  me  and  know  my  thoughts, 
and  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me." 

CXL. 

Morning  is  the  golden  hour  for  devotion.  .  . 
.  .  .  If  stony  Egyptian  Memnon  made  music 
when  the  first  rays  of  the  light  kindled  on  his 
flinty  brow,  a  living  Christian  heart  should  not  be 
mute  when  God  causes  the  outgoings  of  his 
mornings  to  rejoice. 

CXLI. 

The  bell-rope  of  fervent  prayer  reaches  up  to 
the  throne.  Let  us  pull  that  bell  in  our  time  of 


110  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

need,  with  a  strong  hand.     When  thou  hast  pulled 
it  boldly,  wait  till  the  blessing  comes. 

CXLII. 

Whatever  David's  own  experience  may  have 
been,  he  furnishes  a  golden  prayer  for  universal 
use  in  these  pregnant,  pithy  words  :  "  Say  unto 
my  soul,  I  am  thy  salvation." 

CXLIII. 

A  Christian  church  is  not  a  social  club ;  it  is  a 
Heaven-appointed  institution  —  a  band  of  Christ's 
redeemed  followers,  united  for  his  worship  for 
their  own  spiritual  edification  and  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  the  Lord's  kingdom.  Admission  into  a 
church  is  not  a  whim,  or  a  temporary  arrangement. 
It  involves  solemn  vows  and  personal  duties  and 
permanent  obligations.  The  relation  is  not  general, 
but  specific.  What  would  be  thought  of  that  soldier 
who  should  claim  to  belong  to  the  United  States 
Army,  but  was  never  seen  at  the  drill  or  the  quar- 
ters of  his  own  regiment?/  Nor  can  any  man  or 
woman  claim  to  be  a  loyal  member  of  his  or  her 
church  who  never  answers  to  its  roll-call  of  duty, 
who  neglects  its  services,  and  shirks  its  responsi- 
bilities and  a  proper  participation  in  its  worship 
and  its  work. 

The  rolls  of  our  churches  are  encumbered  with 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  Ill 

too  many  spiritual  "deadheads,"  whose  tie  to  the 
church  is  a  brittle  thread.  Commonly  their  tie  to 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  about  as  brittle  and  worthless. 
Having  no  root  in  any  specific  soil,  they  do  not 
grow  in  grace  ;  having  no  pasture,  they  are  not  fed ; 
having  no  chosen  province  or  post  of  duty,  they 
become  as  homeless  as  tramps:  and  as  useless  as 
drones.  On  the  other  hand,  the  vigor,  the  joy,  the 
usefulness,  and  the  power  of  every  Christian  depend 
largely  upon  his  faithfulness  to  his  own  church. 
His  spiritual  roots  are  there  ;  his  influence  casts  its 
shadow  —  larger  or  smaller  —  there  ;  the  fruits  of 
the  Spirit  which  he  yields  are  a  part  of  the  vintage 
of  that  particular  vineyard.  Such  members  are 
the  delight  of  their  pastors.  "  Brethren,"  exclaimed 
grand  old  Pastor  Paul,  "  my  joy  and  crown !  so 
standfast  in  the  Lord,  my  beloved."  Every  min- 
ister soon  comes  to  know  who  are  his  minute-men, 
as  well  as  who  are  his  dress-parade  members,  and 
who  are  the  shirks.X  In  the  Theban  army  was  a 
"Sacred  Battalion,"  three  hundred  strong,  who  had 
sworn  a  solemn  vow  to  stand  by  each  other  and 
their  standard  until  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  was 
spilled.  These  were  the  men  for  a  close  encounter 
or  a  desperate  charge. 

The  leader  of  every  effective  church  knows  his 
sacred  battalion.  They  are  the  weather-proof 
Christians  who  consult  conscience  instead  of  the 
barometer  on  Sundays.  If  the  minister  can  turn 
out  to  preach,  they  can  turn  out  to  hear  him  ;  a 


112  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

sensible  sheep  always  knows  where  he  is  salted. 
The  prayer  gathering  is  their  spiritual  home — for 
home  is  where  the  heart  is.  To  such  members 
hard  work  is  a  privilege,  not  a  penance.  Their 
church  has  its  right  place  both  in  their  affections 
and  in  their  check  book.  When  the  roll  is  called 
they  always  answer  "Here!"  Some  one  asked 
Doctor  Lyman  Beecher,  during  the  golden  days  of 
his  Boston  ministry,  how  he  accomplished  so  much. 
His  ready  answer  was,  "It  is  not  I,  but  my  church. 
I  preach  on  Sunday,  and  four  hundred  faithful 
members  preach  all  the  week."  It  is  not  the 
leader,  but  the  sacred  battalion  who  carry  the 
enemy's  redoubts. 

Happy  the  minister  who  finds  his  sacred  battalion 
at  their  posts,  ready  for  the  burden,  the  bivouac, 
or  the  battle.  Faithful  is  the  minister  who  can 
recall  the  deserters,  and  bring  new  recruits  to  the 
standard  of  King  Jesus. 

CXLIV. 

Every  true  and  timely  moral  reform  should  be 
born  and  nursed,  and  reared  and  supported  by  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  There  is  not  a  single 
moral  precept  which  sinful  humanity  needs,  but  the 
Church  should  teach  it ;  there  is  not  a  wholesome 
example  to  be  set,  but  the  Church  should  practise 
it.  That  Christian  church  is  the  most  Christ-\\k.e. 
which  does  the  most  to  "seek  and  to  save  the  lost." 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  113 

CXLV. 

Some  men's  boughs  hang  over  on  the  church  side 
of  the  wall,  but  their  roots  are  on  the  world's  side. 
Such  bear  nothing  but  leaves. 

CXLVI. 

In  a  well  organized  army  every  man  has  his 
place.  The  mathematical  head  goes  to  the  engineer 
corps.  The  medical  skill  and  steady  hand  are 
assigned  to  the  surgical  department.  The  sharp- 
eyed  man  shall  handle  the  Enfield  rifle ;  and  the 
well-taught  graduate  of  a  half-dozen  hard  fought 
fields  receives  the  sword  of  a  brigadier.  He  who 
has  most  of  Napoleon  in  him  soon  fights  his  way 
to  the  supreme  command.  A  Wellington  or  a 
Scott  would  not  be  more  out  of  place  in  the  ranks 
than  would  a  Paul  or  an  Apollos  be  in  spending 
their  precious  time  in  teaching  the  children  of  a 
mission  school  to  read  the  alphabet.  "  Every  man 
in  his  place"  is  as  much  the  motto  of  the  Church 
as  it  is  of  the  camp. 

CXLVII. 

The  presence  of  Christ  can  be  traced  in  a  church 
as  the  presence  of  a  stream  of  water  can  be  traced 
in  California  during  the  summer.  Where  the  irri- 
gating stream  is  carried  there  is  a  belt  of  emerald. 


114  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXLVIII. 

Christ  never  promises  smooth  water  to  his  fol- 
lowers. Nor  is  his  Church  a  vast  assemblage  of 
tow-boats,  pulled  along  by  the  sheer  power  of  the 
Divine  Will.  Each  Christian  has  his  own  oar  of 
personal  responsibility  to  pull,  and  his  own  rudder 
of  conscience  to  steer  with,  and  must  "work  his 
passage"  as  a  free  agent. 

CXLIX. 

The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  is  an  experimental 
thing  —  something  to  be  tested  by  practical  results. 
It  claims  an  actual  relation  between  sinful  man  and 
his  Heavenly  Father ;  between  the  sinner  and  his 
divine  Saviour.  The  salvation  of  any  sinner  de- 
pends on  his  vital  spiritual  union  to  the  Lord 
Jesus. 

Religion  is  not  guess  work.  Every  one  who  be- 
comes Christ's  actually  "  knows  whom  he  believes." 

CL. 

One  of  the  most  substantial  evidences  of  growth 
in  grace  is  that  a  man  more  and  more  loves  to 
obey  Christ  and  comes  to  relish  even  the  wholesome 
severities  of  duty.  It  is  equally  true  that  in  order 
to  make  high  attainments  in  religion,  we  must  love 
righteousness.  We  must  love  it  because  it  is 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  115 

comely  and  is  pleasing  to  God.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  the  boy  who  drudges  through 
his  dry  lessons  in  natural  philosophy  because  he  is 
driven  to  «it,  and  the  boy  who  is  so  enamored  with 
physical  science  that  he  has  a  laboratory  up  in  the 
garret,  and  makes  electrical  machines  of  his  own 
out  of  old  glass  jars.  Such  boys  make  the  Fara- 
days  and  the  Edisons.  A  bright  youth  in  my  Sun- 
day-school spent  his  first  pocket  money  in  buying 
pigments  and  brushes.  To-day  he  is  winning  gold 
medals  in  the  Salon  of  Art  in  Paris.  "  I  had  hoped," 
said  a  young  man  to  D'Alenbert,  "that  my  paper 
would  have  given  me  a  seat  in  the  Royal  Academy." 
"Sir,"  replied  the  great  philosopher,  "if  you  have 
no  higher  motive  than  that  you  will  never  get  a 
seat  there."  The  man  who  keeps  Christ's  com- 
mandments simply  for  selfish  objects,  does  not  keep 
them,  for  the  essence  and  flavor  of  all  holy  actions 
lie  in  loyalty  to  Christ  and  to  right  for  its  own 
sake.  The  moment  that  any  religion  becomes  the 
mere  tug  and  strain  of  enforced  obedience,  all  the 
godliness  has  gone  out  of  it.  Adoption  makes 
children,  not  slaves.  Love  of  Christ  is  the  only 
consecration. 

CLI. 

True  religion  is  imitation  of  Christ ;  the  true 
Christian  is  a  follower  of  Jesus.  Following  implies 
continuity.  The  train  is  not  merely  attached  to 


113  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

the  engine  ;  it  pursues  the  same  track  over  which 
the  engine  leads. 

Following  implies  obedience,  for  no  soldier  can 
follow  his  commander  unless  he  obeys  orders.  It 
also  implies  imitation.  "Learn  of  me,"  says  the 
Master,  and,  as  the  scholar  who  would  be  a  good 
penm  ankeeps  his  eye  on  the  copy,  so  the  Chris- 
tian must  keep  his  eye  on  his  Model.  Jesus  as  a 
Divine  Saviour  died  for  me ;  but  Jesus  as  a  loving 
man  teaches  me  how  to  live.  And  there  are  two 
characteristics  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus  — given  in 
the  first  chapter  of  "  Hebrews  "  —  that  furnish  the 
surest  tests  of  piety.  It  is  there  said  of  him  that 
he  was  exalted  above  his  associates  because  he 
loved  rigJiteousness  and  hated  iniquity.  Let  not 
my  reader  be  repelled  by  the  word  righteousness> 
as  if  it  had  here  a  theological  meaning  and  described 
the  penal  satisfaction  which  the  Redeemer  made  to 
the  divine  law  when  he  died  for  us.  It  simply  and 
honestly  means  the  being  and  doing  what  is  just  and 
right.  And  the  word  iniquity  signifies  whatever  is 
crooked ;  whatever  is  twisted  out  of  the  right  line. 
Our  common  word  is  wrong — i.  e.,  what  is  wrung 
out  of  its  straight  direction.  A  lie  is  twisted  truth. 
Fraud  is  a  wringing  out  of  shape  of  the  eighth 
commandment. 

In  these  days  we  not  only  need  to  emphasize  a 
sound  doctrine,  but  sound  practice,  for  piety  is  a 
Bible-creed  crystalized  into  Bible-conduct.  Back 
of  the  conduct  must  lie  a  purified  heart.  Figs  do 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  117 

not  grow  from  thistles.  Create  in  me  a  clean 
heart  must  go  before  all  the  rest,  for  out  of  the 
heart  are  the  issues  of  life.  The  inward  fountains 
of  life  must  be  cleansed  and  the  will  must  yield  its 
helm  to  the  commands  of  Christ.  Sagacious  Paul 
describes  it  as  "putting  on  the  new  man,  which 
after  God  is  created  in  righteousness  and  true  holi- 
ness." The  evidence  of  this  "  new  man  "  is  to  love 
right  and  to  hate  iniquity. 

CLII. 

If  those  who  sneer  at  practical  religion  would 
only  seek  it  for  themselves,  and  make  a  fair  trial 
of  it,  their  lips  would  be  sealed  to  scoffs,  and  only 
opened  in  grateful  praise.  I  never  heard  of  a  sincere 
Christian  who  pronounced  Christianity  an  impos- 
ture or  a  failure The  only  satisfactory 

test  of  Christianity  is  the  test  of  personal  examin- 
ation and  personal  experiment. 

CLIII. 

Like  the  treacherous  signal  boats  that  are  some- 
times stationed  by  the  wreckers  off  an  iron-bound 
coast,  the  shifting  systems  of  false  religion  are  con- 
tinually changing  their  places.  Like  them,  they 
attract  only  to  bewilder,  and  allure  only  to  destroy. 
The  unwary  mariner  follows  them  with  a  trembling 
uncertainty,  and  only  finds  out  where  he  is  when  he 


118  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

feels  his  ill-fated  vessel  crashing  into  a  thousand 
fragments  on  the  beach.  But  how  different  from 
these  floating  and  delusive  systems  is  that  unchang- 
ing Gospel  of  Christ,  which  stands  forth  like  the 
towering  lighthouse  of  Eddystone,  with  its  beacon 
blaze  streaming  far  out  over  the  midnight  sea  ! 
The  angry  waves  through  many  a  long  year  have 
rolled  in,  thundering  against  that  tower's  base. 
The  winds  of  heaven  have  warred  fiercely  around 
its  pinnacle  ;  the  rains  have  dashed  against  its 
gleaming  lantern.  But  there  it  stands.  It  moves 
not.  It  trembles  not ;  for  it  is  "  founded  on  a  rock." 
Year  after  year,  the  storm-stricken  mariner  looks 
out  for  its  star-like  light  as  he  sweeps  in  through 
the  British  Channel.  It  is  the  first  object  that 
meets  his  eye  as  he  returns  on  his  homeward  voy- 
age ;  it  is  the  last  which  he  beholds  long  after  his 
native  land  has  sunk  beneath  the  evening  wave. 
So  it  is  with  the  unchanged  Gospel  of  Christ. 
While  other  systems  rise,  and  fall,  and  pass  into 
nothingness,  this  Gospel  (like  its  immutable  author) 
is  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever.  While 
other  false  and  flashing  lights  are  extinguished, 
this,  the  "  true  light,"  ever  shineth. 

CLIV. 

The  theory  of  all  Redemption  has  its  mysteries ; 
the  practical  part  of  our  religion  which  is  trusting 
and  obeying  a  Redeemer,  is  no  mystery. 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POI.\T.  119 

CLV. 

True  religion  is  simply  following  Christ.  The 
more  closely  our  modern  churches  conform  their 
standards  of  doctrine  to  this  brief,  vital  core, 
truth,  the  more  orthodox  will  they  become,  and  the 
less  will  they  be  rent  into  factions  and  distracted 
with  schisms.  The  true  "Evangelical  Alliance" 
will  always  crystallize  around  Christ's  person  as  the 
ene  only  leader,  and  Christ's  cross  as  the  one  only 
ground  of  salvation. 

CLVI. 

A  religion  built  on  selfishness  is  worthless.  The 
sinful  heart  is  the  real  citadel ;  until  that  is  sur- 
rendered unconditionally,  no  blessing  comes,  no 
sunshine  breaks,  no  new  life  for  God  begins.  No 
compromise  with  sin  can  ever  be  accepted  by  the 
all-holy  Jesus  ;  and  no  conversion  can  be  genuine 
which  does  not  radically  change  both  character  and 
conduct. 

CLVII. 

Hardly  any  simile  describes  character  better 
than  that  of  a  fabric  made  up  of  innumerable 
threads,  and  put  together  by  numberless  stitches. 

A   great    many   poor,  slazy   fabrics 

have  a  smooth  and  substantial  look,  but  in  the  wear 


120  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

of  life  they  betray  the  weak  spots  and  ravel  out. 
Some  people  also  are  not  stoutly  sewed ;  they  are 
only  basted.  When  the  warp  and  woof  of  char- 
acter is  weak  and  worthless,  when  it  is  badly 
rotted  by  sin  there  are  two  methods  of  repair.  The 
one  is  to  patch  up  the  old  ;  the  other  is  to  discard 
it  altogether  and  procure  an  entirely  new  fabric. 
The  first  is  man's  plan  ;  the  second  is  Christ's  plan. 
The  fatal  objections  to  the  first  method  is  that  a 
patched  character  does  not  look  well,  and  will  not 
last.  Harmony  is  a  prime  essential  of  beauty,  and 
a  bright  strip  of  virtue  pieced  in  upon  a  godless 
life  only  makes  the  rest  of  the  fabric  look  more 
unsightly.  Nor  is  there  strength  enough  in  the 
fabric  to  hold  the  incongruous  patch.  Christ's 
method  of  dealing  with  human  character  is  the  only 
thorough  and  successful  method.  He  says,  Behold, 
I  make  all  thinge  new.  If  any  man  be  in  Christ 
and  Christ  in  him,  he  is  a  new  creature. 
The  supreme  gift  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  new  char- 
acter. The  Apostles  never  wasted  a  moment  on  a 
gospel  of  patchwork.  Their  twofold  text  was 
"  turn  to  the  Lord,"  which  meant  repentance,  and 
"  cleave  to  the  Lord,"  which  meant  a  life  of  faith 
and  holiness. 

CLVIII. 

God's  grace  is  the  only  original  source  of  the 
light  that  makes  any  roan  a  luminary  in  society. 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  121 

And  when  a  man  has  once  been  kindled  at  the 
cross  of  Christ,  he  is  bound  to  shine.  Neither 
natural  heart  or  stone  tower  are  selfluminous.  A 
hand  from  without  must  bring  them  light. 

CLIX. 

Every  Christian  should  dare  to  be  singular.  It 
is  of  little  account  to  be  judged  of  man's  judgment ; 
he  who  judgeth  us  is  the  Lord.  We  are  members 
of  society,  and  bound  to  contribute  our  very  utmost 
to  its  benefit ;  but  we  do  that  best  by  remembering 
that  our  first  allegiance  is  to  that  Society  whose 
leader  is  Christ.  We  report  to  headquarters.  The 
first  question  with  me  as  a  Christian,  is,  What  does 
my  Master  command  ?  Would  he  approve  my 
mode  of  doing  business,  my  style  of  living,  my 
amusements,  my  temper,  my  whole  daily  conduct? 
If  so,  that  is  enough. 

All  the  people  who  make  a  marked  success  in 
life  and  who  achieve  any  good  work  for  God,  are 
the  people  who  are  not  ashamed  to  be  thought 
singular.  The  man  who  runs  with  the  crowd 
counts  for  nothing.  It  is  when  he  turns  about  and 
faces  the  multitude  who  are  rushing  on  to  do  evil 
that  he  commands  every  eye.  Then  by  a  bold 
protest  he  may  "put  a  thousand  to  flight."  So 
the  young  monk,  Luther,  turned  about  and  faced 
the  hosts  of  Papacy.  His  heroic  "  No,"  nailed  on 
the  church  door  of  Wittenberg,  aroused  Europe 


122  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

from   its  delusive  and   deadly  dreams.     Standing 
alone,  he  was  enforced  by  the  Almighty. 

I  seem  to  see  the  burly  Reformer  as  he  came  to 
that  spot,  three  hundred  and  sixty  years  ago,  with 
the  immortal  theses  in  one  hand  and  his  hammer  in 
the  other.  He  does  not  dream  himself  what  results 
are  to  come  from  that  simple  deed.  With  sturdy 
strokes  he  sends  home  the  nails,  until  the  ring  of 
that  hammer  begins  to  startle  Germany  out  of  the 
slumbers  of  the  Dark  Ages.  Germany  has  never 
gone  back  into  that  nightmare  of  superstition ;  but 
Protestantism  on  the  Elbe  and  the  Oder  is  not 
broad  awake  to-day.  That  hammer  needs  to  ring 
again. 

CLX. 

Unpopularity  should  be  to  us  a  guerdon  of  praise 
when  it  is  visited  on  a  man  for  conscience's  sake. 
There  is  often  more  honor  in  a  pillory  than  a  throne. 

CLX  I. 

Every  true  child  of  God  is  a  citizen  of  Heaven. 
Our  homestead  is  on  high.  A  part  of  the  blood- 
bought  family  are  there  already,  and  every  day 
witnesses  the  home-coming  of  thousands  more. 
Only  a  thin  veil  separates  me  from  the  multi- 
tudes around  the  throne  ;  when  death  drops  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  123 

veil,  I  am  there  !  Here  on  earth  I  am  but  a  pil- 
grim—  a  transient  lodger,  for  this  is  not  my  rest. 
Here  we  who  are  Christ's  have  no  continuing 
city  ;  we  are  seeking  for  and  pressing  towards  the 
magnificent  city  that  hath  foundations  whose  builder 
is  the  Almighty.  A  wondrous  comfort  does  this 
thought  bring  to  us  amid  the  discomforts  and  the 
sharp  trials  on  the  road.  This  life  is  only  our 
training-school  to  purify  us  and  make  us  more 
"meet  "  for  the  heavenly  community  among  whom 
we  expect  to  dwell.  The  best  citizens  of  this 
Republic  are  those  whose  lives  are  loyal  to  the 
higher  law  which  God  has  written  in  his  Word. 
No  statute  is  fit  to  be  enacted  which  contravenes 
God's  truth  ;  and  that  professed  Christian  is  a 
coward  and  a  traitor  to  his  Master  who  does  not 
carry  his  religion  into  his  politics  as  much  as  into 
his  business  pursuits  or  his  household. 

"  If  ye  love  me,"  said  our  loving  Redeemer,  "keep 
my  commandments."  The  world  around  us  has  its 
unwritten  code  of  morals  and  of  manners.  It  sets 
up  its  standards  and  fixes  its  fashions  to  suit  itself. 
But  they  are  no  rule  for  you  and  me ;  Jesus  has 
"chosen  us  out  of  the  world,"  and  given  his  own 
life  to  be  our  standard  and  our  pattern.  Every 
consistent  Christian's  motto  should  be  —  I  must 
live  for  this  world,  and  yet  not  be  of  it.  Daniel 
did  his  best  service  for  wicked  Babylon  by  keeping 
his  windows  open  towards  Jerusalem,  and  by  loy- 
alty to  its  everlasting  King.  This  world  never  will 


124  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

be  converted  by  conformity  to  it ;  but  it  will  be 
overwhelmingly  impressed  by  the  sight  of  a  vast 
body  of  people  who  should  live  and  speak  and  act 
as  the  citizens  of  Heaven  itself.  What  a  salt  would 
our  influence  be  ;  what  a  power  would  our  example 
be  ;  what  a  trumpet  our  every  word ! 

Let  every  Christian  assert  his  high  birth  by  his 
high  bearing.  He  is  never  to  stoop  to  anything 
low,  never  to  be  caught  at  contemptible  tricks, 
never  found  in  suspicious  places.  As  high  as  the 
heavens  are  above  the  earth,  so  much  higher 
should  a  Christian's  ways  and  words  and  whole 
conduct  be  above  the  ways  of  sinners.  He  should 
never  "  apologize  "  to  the  world  for  daring  to  do 
right. 

CLXII. 

"  How  did  Roger  Sherman  vote  ?  "  inquired  Mr. 
Jefferson  once  as  he  entered  the  hall  of  Congress, 
while  a  question  was  being  taken  ;  and  as  the 
story  goes,  he  recorded  his  own  vote  on  the  same 
side,  without  knowing  much  of  the  merits  of  the 
question  itself.  This  was  a  high  tribute  to  the 
good  sense  of  the  Connecticut  shoemaker,  and 
proved  him  to  be  a  man  for  others  to  steer  by. 
Now  it  is  not  improbable  that  our  Saviour  had 
reference  to  the  same  thing  in  morals  when  he 
told  his  disciples  that  they  were  "cities  on  a  hill." 
The  idea  seems  to  be  something  more  than  mere 
conspicuousness.  When  the  Great  Teacher  first 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  125 

pronounced  this  memorable  comparison  of  a  good 
man  with  a  conspicuous  city,  his  eyes  may  have 
been  looking  to  the  ancient  town  of  Saphet,  which 
stood  upon  a  lofty  elevation,  high  above  the  waves 
of  Galilee.  It  was  in  full  sight  and  seen  from 
afar.  It  was  as  if  he  had  said, "  Ye  are  like  yonder 
city  of  Saphet,  set  upon  a  hill."  That  city  is 
always  there,  always  in  one  place,  lifting  its  white 
domes  to  the  morning  sun,  and  flashing  back  his 
evening  rays  from  its  high  battlements.  It  is  an 
object  to  take  the  compass  by  —  an  object  by 
which  the  traveller  from  Syria  and  from  Lebanon 
may  guide  his  steps.  The  fisherman,  as  he  pushes 
his  light  shallop  over  the  placid  bosom  of  Gen- 
nesaret,  knows  which  way  to  steer  his  little  craft, 
for  yonder  looms  up  Saphet,  the  "  city  on  a  hill." 
The  dwellers  hard  by  knew  which  way  was  north, 
and  which  was  south,  by  looking  out  towards  the 
lofty  city.  It  was  ahvays  on  its  hilly  throne.  So 
it  is  with  a  man  of  Bible  principle.  He  is  a 
moral  Saphet.  Other  men  can  steer  by  him. 
Other  men  often  judge  of  the  wisdom  or  rightful- 
ness  of  things  by  the  position  which  he  occupies. 
He  is  on  a  hill  —  firm,  well-established,  not  seeking 
to  be  conspicuous,  but  yet  not  ashamed  to  be  seen. 
It  requires  a  sound  conscience  to  be  all  this.  It  re- 
quires grace.  It  requires  holy  and  consistent  living. 
This  controlling  and  directing  godliness  of  charac- 
ter "  goeth  not  out "  but  by  much  prayer,  watch- 
fulness, self-denial,  and  careful  walking  with  God. 


126  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CLXIII. 

If  there  was  not  another  person  on  the  globe 
but  myself,  I  ought  to  be  a  Christian  for  my  own 
sake.  Life  is  only  pure  when  it  is  under  God's 
control ;  life  is  only  happy  when  we  can  enjoy 
communion  with  God.  Death  is  only  safe  when 
it  is  a  departure  "to  be  with  Christ  which  is 
far  better." 

CLXIV. 

While  riding  across  the  hot  and  parched  valley 
of  the  Jordan,  you  have  ever  in  your  eye  a  luxuriant 
belt  of  foliage ;  it  marks  the  course  of  the  river 
itself.  That  thick  growth  of  oleanders,  tamarisks, 
and  other  trees  is  "  planted  by  the  waters  and 
spreadeth  out  its  roots  by  the  river ; "  the  leaves 
are  ever  green,  and  have  no  dread  of  the  drought 
of  summer.  So  is  it  in  travelling  over  the  barren 
plains  of  Nevada  ;  whenever  you  descry  a  belt  of 
willows  and  alder-bushes  you  safely  prophecy  a 
watercourse. 

What  the  root  is  to  a  tree,  the  heart  is  to  a 
Christian.  Both  are  invisible ;  but  external  signs 
show  plainly  where  they  both  are,  and  what  they 
are  about.  Dryness  below  ground  soon  signifies 
deadness  above  ground ;  dryness  in  the  heart  soon 
reports  itself  in  the  daily  conduct. 

A  thorough-going  Christian  draws  his  motives  of 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  127 

action  from  his  deep  heart-love  to  his  Master.  Up 
through  these  roots  of  affection  come  his  faith,  his 
prayerful  spirit,  his  zeal,  and  his  staunch  devotion 
to  the  true  and  the  holy.  The  double  office  of  a 
root  is  to  hold  and  to  feed.  Such  a  man  is  held 
firm  against  sudden  gales  of  temptation.  Such  a 
man  never  falls  off  into  spiritual  declension.  Jesus 
holds  him,  and  Jesus  sends  currents  of  spiritual 
strength  into  his  life  as  the  sap  of  a  fruit  tree  perco- 
lates to  the  outermost  twig.  As  long  as  the  soul 
reaches  down  into  Christ  and  draws  its  supplies 
from  Christ,  there  is  little  danger  that  the  leaves 
will  wither.  Some  professors  wear  a  very  dingy 
and  dusty  look ;  they  are  powdered  all  over  with 
worldliness,  so  that  there  is  no  visible  verdure. 
Some  very  ugly  caterpillars  build  their  webs  in  the 
dry  limbs.  Others  there  are  whose  leaf  began  to 
turn  yellow  soon  after  they  were  set  out  in  the 
Church.  This  betrays  a  lack  of  spiritual  moisture 
in  the  heart ;  perhaps  secret  "  borers"  of  sin  are  at 
work  there  killing  the  tree  itself  by  inches.  The 
leaf  tells  the  story.  It  is  a  grievous  mistake  to 
suppose  that  a  Christian  can  be  kept  fresh,  foliage- 
laden,  and  fruitful  by  a  mere  church-covenant,  or 
dread  of  discipline,  or  a  respect  for  "appearances." 
His  inner  life  must  be  hid  with  Christ  in  God. 

The  spiritual  weather  never  affects  such  Chris- 
tians; they  thrive  under  every  condition  of  the 
thermometer  and  the  barometer.  Every  year  is 
a  bearing  year.  They  are  in  the  habit  of  serving 


128  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Christ,  in  the  habit  of  praying,  and  of  delving  in 
their  Bibles,  and  of  giving  systematically  their 
money  to  good  objects  as  well  as  of  paying  their 
other  debts ;  they  produce  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
such  as  faith,  patience,  truthfulness,  and  benevo- 
lence, just  as  my  "  Bartlett"  tree  yields  its  annual 
tale  of  juicy  pears.  Sometimes  God  shakes 
the  tree  by  a  sudden  trial,  and  then  how  the  fruit 
does  rattle  down  !  I  sometimes  think  that  God 
gives  certain  of  his  people  these  severe  jars,  just  to 
show  how  firm  the  roots  are,  and  how  abundantly 
the  fruit  will  drop.  These  are  his  choice  trees; 
they  are  planted  close  to  the  rivers ;  they  do  not 
"  see  when  the  heat  cometh ;"  they  are  not  troubled 
in  the  years  of  drought,  neither  do  they  ever  cease 
from  yielding  abundantly.  It  is  perfectly  possible 
for  every  one  of  us  to  be  just  such  a  Christian. 

CLXV. 

Christians  are  Christ's  jewels.  They  are  pur- 
chased by  atoning  blood  ;  at  an  infinite  price  was 
this  divine  ownership  secured.  As  the  pearls  are 
only  won  from  the  depths  of  the  sea  by  the  dan- 
gerous dive  of  the  fishers,  so  were  the  pearls  for 
Messiah's  crown  brought  up  from  the  miry  depths 
of  depravity  by  the  descent  of  that  divine  Sufferer 
who  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.  The  most 
brilliant  and  precious  gem  known  to  us  is  of  the 
same  chemical  substance  as  the  black  and  opaque 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  129 

coal  of  the  mine.  Crystallization  turns  the  carbon 
into  the  diamond.  The  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
transforms  an  opaque  soul,  as  black  by  nature  as 
the  jet,  into  a  jewel  which  reflects  the  glory  of 
Christ's  countenance.  All  the  lustre  that  the 
ripest  Christian  character  possesses  is  but  the 
reflection  of  that  Sun  of  Righteousness.  He  who 
lives  nearest  to  Jesus  shines  the  brightest.  The 
tarnish  which  makes  some  Christians  no  more 
sightly  than  a  common  pebble  of  the  mire,  comes 
from  contact  with  an  evil  world.  A  "pearl  cast 
before  swine  "  is  not  more  out  of  place  than  is  a 
professed  follower  of  Jesus  in  the  society  of  scoffers, 
or  in  the  haunts  of  revelry. 

Not  all  precious  jewels  glitter  in  conspicuous 
positions.  The  Master  has  his  hidden  ones  ; 
there  are  costly  sapphires  beneath  coarse  raiment, 
and  up  in  the  dingy  attic  of  poverty.  That  self- 
denying  daughter  who  wears  out  her  youthful  years 
in  nursing  a  poor  infirm  mother,  is  a  ruby  of  whom 
the  Master  saith,  "  Thou  art  mine  in  the  day  when 
I  gather  my  jewels."  Many  a  precious  pearl  do  the 
Wells  and  the  Wanamakers  fish  up  from  the  dregs 
of  ignorance  into  their  mission-schools. 

"  We  are  his  workmanship,"  said  the  great 
apostle  ;  and  the  lustre  of  a  gem  depends  much  on 
the  polishing.  This  is  often  a  sharp  and  a  severe 
process.  Many  of  God's  people  can  recall  the 
times  when  they  were  under  the  terrible  file,  or 
were  pressed  down  to  the  grinding-wheel.  Blessed 


130  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

be  the  affliction,  however  fierce,  that  gives  new  lus- 
tre to  the  diamond !  The  Master  spendeth  no 
item  upon  worthless  pebbles ;  only  his  jewels  are 
polished  after  the  sirmTtude  of  a  palace.  Nor  is 
this  process  only  wrought  by  the  divine  hand ; 
every  Christian  must  strive  to  make  his  or  her 
own  character  the  more  shapely  and  beautiful. 

Luther  said  that  there  is  great  divinity  in  the 
pronouns  of  Scripture.  "  They  shall  be  mine, 
saith  the  Lord."  This  claim  is  founded  on  the 
purchase  made  in  redeeming  blood.  Regeneration 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  confirms  it,  and  every  true 
believer  is  also  self-surrendered  to  the  ownership 
of  Christ.  Up  to  the  hour  of  conversion  we  had 
other  proprietors  —  self  sin  and  the  devil.  Now 
Jesus  says  to  each  Christian,  Thou  art  mine,  I  own 
thee.  I  will  instruct  thee,  and  polish  thee,  and 
put  thee  where  it  pleaseth  me.  I  will  take  care  of 
thy  salvation,  and  no  man  shall  pluck  thee  out 
of  my  hand.  Thou  shalt  be  my  peculiar  treasure 
in  the  day  of  my  triumphant  appearing.  I  will 
place  thee  in  my  crown  ! 

What  a  coronation  day  that  will  be  !  All  else 
on  this  globe  will  be  but  as  lumber  and  rubbish  — 
fit  only  for  the  flames  —  in  comparison  with  his 
choice  ones.  Then  shall  the  homeless  man  of 
Nazareth  come  into  full  possession  of  his  magnifi- 
cent trophies.  The  lost  in  hell  will  be  outnum- 
bered by  the  saved  in  heaven.  They  that  curse 
him  in  the  pit  will  be  far  fewer  than  they  that 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  181 

crown  him  in  the  paradise.  On  the  head  once 
bleeding  with  the  thorns  will  flash  the  diadem  of 
his  imperial  glory.  And  then  will  all  the  universe 
confess  that  the  ransom  was  worth  all  its  bitter 
cost  of  agonies,  when  the  King  shall  ascend  his 
throne  of  victory,  and  be  encircled  with  the  con- 
stellations of  his  jewels  ! 

All  soul-saving  work  is  a  pearl-fishery  for  King 
Jesus. 

CLXVI. 

A  Christian  is  the  world's  Bible.  He  is  the 
only  Bible  that  the  majority  of  unconverted  people 
look  at.  They  scan  the  pages  closely,  and  often 
chuckle  when  they  discover  blots  and  disgraceful 
records  there.  It  is  a  terrible  injury  to  a  man 
of  the  world  to  have  his  mind  prejudiced  and 
embittered  towards  the  religion  of  Christ  by  the 
inconsistent  conduct  of  professed  Christians.  The 
most  powerful  argument  to  win  a  soul  to  Jesus, 
is  the  daily  observation  of  true,  brave,  cheerful, 
holy,  Christian  lives. 

CLXVII. 

A  well-built  Christian  is  harmonious  in  all  his 
parts.  He  is  not  a  jumble  of  opposites  and  incon- 
sistencies —  to-day  devout,  and  to-morrow  frivo- 
lous; to-day  liberal,  and  to-morrow  fluent  in 


132  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

falsehoods.  He  does  not  keep  the  fourth  com- 
mandment on  Sunday,  and  break  the  eighth  on 
Monday.  His  philanthropy  does  not  outrun  his 
conscientiousness,  nor  do  his  spiritual  fervors  out- 
run his  inward  faith  and  self-denials. 

A  living,  lovable  Christian,  is  the  most  powerful 
argument  for  the  Gospel.  He  is  Christ's  best 
representative. 

CLXVIII. 

Sanctification  is  a  genuine  and  gracious  process, 
and  it  never  reaches  completeness  in  this  life.  In 
building  a  character  for  eternity,  we  should  regard 
its  impression  on  our  fellow-men ;  we  are  as 
much  bound  to  ornament  it  with  the  "lily  work" 
as  we  are  to  make  the  structure  solid  and  endur- 
ing. An  attractive  Christian  is  the  one  who  hits 
the  most  nearly  that  golden  mean  between  pliant 
laxities  on  the  one  hand,  and  severe  sanctimonious 
harshness  on  the  other  hand.  He  is  strict,  but 
not  censorious.  He  is  sound,  and  yet  sweet  and 
mellow,  as  one  who  dwells  much  in  the  sunshine  of 
Christ's  countenance.  He  never  incurs  contempt 
by  compromising  with  wrong,  nor  does  he  provoke 
others  to  dislike  him  by  his  doing  right  in  a  very 
harsh,  or  hateful,  or  bigoted  fashion. 

Our  Master  is  our  model.  What  marvelous  lily- 
work  of  gentleness,  forbearance  and  unselfish  love 
adorned  the  massive  divinity  of  life !  What  he 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  133 

was,  we  in  our  imperfect  measure  should  pray  and 
strive  after.  Study  Jesus.  His  grace  imparted  to 
you,  and  his  example  imitated,  can  turn  deformity 
into  beauty  and  adorn  your  lives  with  whatsoever 
things  are  true  and  honest  and  lovely  and  of  good 
report.  He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise.  But,  if 
we  would  win  the  careless  and  the  godless  to  our 
Saviour  we  must  make  our  daily  religion  more 
winsome. 

CLXIX. 

We  wonder  sometimes  why  certain  people  of 
our  acquaintance  shine  with  such  a  steady  lustre 
of  piety.  Their  spiritual  influences  is  far  out  of 
proportion  to  their  talents  or  mental  culture  or 
social  advantages.  But  the  cause  of  their  superior 
brightness  is  the  same  that  have  made  Venus  and 
Mars  so  brilliant  in  the  evening  heavens.  While 
mighty  Saturn  and  Neptune  were  almost  invisible 
through  their  remoteness  from  the  sun,  the  two 
small  planets  which  revolve  close  to  the  source  of 
light  becomes  luminaries  of  the  first  rank.  A  very 
humble  Christian  may  become  a  burning  and  a 
shining  light  in  his  church,  and  in  society  if  his 
orbit  is  very  near  to  Christ.  He  reflects  Christ  in 
his  everyday  conduct.  It  is  only  as  he  recedes 
from  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  that  the  Christian 
becomes  either  invisible  or  sheds  the  baneful  influ- 
ence of  a  wandering  star. 


134  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CLXX. 

A  true  Christian  is  the  representative  of  Christ 
in  the  world — the  only  embodiment  of  gospel 
teaching  and  influence  that  is  presented  in  human 
society.  How  vitally  important  is  it,  then,  that 
those  of  us  who  profess  and  call  ourselves  Chris- 
tians should  make  our  Christianity  attractive ! 
Multitudes  of  people  know  very  little,  and  think 
very  little  about  the  Lord  Jesus  ;  nearly  all  the 
ideas  they  get  of  his  religion  is  what  they  see  in 
those  who  profess  it,  and  their  eyes  are  as  sharp 
as  those  of  a  lynx  to  discover  whether  neighbor  is 
one  whit  the  better  for  his  religion. 

CLXXI. 

There  were  two  massive  pillars  in  the  porch  of 
Solomon's  Temple  which  bore  the  names  of 
"Jochim"  and  "  Boaz."  One  name  signifies 
"  He  will  establish,"  and  the  other  signifies,  "  In 
strength."  The  two  together  are  admirable  em- 
blems of  solid  goodness  of  character.  Not  hollow, 
not  easily  thrown  off  their  base,  and  of  undecaying 
material,  they  typify  the  firmness  and  the  strength 
of  the  man  who  is  immovably  fixed,  trusting  on 
the  Lord.  But  while  these  two  pillars  were  made 
strong,  they  were  also  made  ornamental ;  for  they 
were  enwreathed  with  delicate  chains  of  carved 
pomegranates  and  "upon"  the  capitals  of  the 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  135 

pillars  was  lily-work.  Thus  strength  and  beauty 
are  to  be  combined  in  every  well-developed  Chris- 
tian character. 

CLXXII. 

The  weakest  side  of  humanity  is  its  moral  side. 
Colossal  intellect  is  often  found  lodged  in  the  same 
person  with  a  conscience  of  mere  pulp. 

CLXXIII. 

Character  is  determined  by  what  we  love  best 
and  labor  for  most  zealously.  We  judge  of  the 
unseen  interior  by  the  outcome,  just  as  we  judge 
that  there  is  a  bee's  nest  in  a  hollow  tree  if  we 
see  bees  coming  and  going  from  a  hole  in  the 
trunk.  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of 
his  heart  bringeth  forth  good  things.  God  does 
not  deal  with  actions,  but  with  the  heart  that 
prompts  them. 

CLXXIV. 

A  well  built  life  is  just  the  laying  up  of  one 
grace  and  good  deed  upon  another  ;  of  faith  and 
patience  and  temperance  and  benevolence  and 
courage  and  self-denial  and  brotherly  love.  It  is 
growing  in  grace.  It  is  the  sacred  architecture  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  "  Ye  are  God's  building." 


136  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CLXXV. 

The  best  advertisement  of  a  workshop  is  first- 
class  work.  The  strongest  attraction  to  Chris- 
tianity is  a  well-made  Christian  character. 

CLXXVI. 

Next  to  Christ  himself  there  is  no  blessing  to 
the  community  like  a  Christ-like  Christian. 

CLXXVII. 

True  godliness  is  no  more  to  be  taken  out  of 
business,  out  of  social  life,  and  out  of  politics,  than 
the  leaven  is  to  be  taken  away  from  the  meal, 
or  the  salt  is  to  be  barreled  up  by  itself.  Christ 
puts  his  followers  right  into  this  wicked  world,  and 
commands  them  to  let  their  light  so  shine  that 
men  may  see  their  good  works  and  be  led  to  honor 
God.  The  Christian  who  is  afraid  to  mix  with 
his  fellow-men  lest  his  godliness  be  rubbed  off, 
has  really  but  little  godliness  to  lose. 

CLXXVIII. 

Good  men  ought  to  be  put  into  political  stations 
and  make  themselves  felt  in  all  our  civil  affairs. 
They  ought  to  purify  unclean  atmospheres.  Some 
civilians  go  into  the  foul  atmosphere  of  politics, 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  137 

and  preserve  their  Christian  purity,  as  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen  preserved  -ihis  in  the  American 
Senate,  and  Wilberforce,  Gladstone  and  Lord 
Chancellor  Cairns  have  preserved  theirs  in  the 
British  Parliament.  Jesus  does  not  mean  to  take 
his  disciples  out  of  the  world,  but  he  is  able  to 
keep  them  from  the  world's  contaminations. 

CLXXIX. 

Every  good  man  is  God's  boon  to  society. 

An  eminent  banker  fell  into  no  exaggeration  when 
he  said  to  a  representative  of  the  press,  "  The 
most  thoroughly  useful  man  New  York  has  known 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  was  William  E.  Dodge." 
His  sudden  departure  was  more  than  local,  it  was 
a  national  bereavement.  That  broad  and  beautiful 
banyan-tree  let  fall  one  of  its  beneficent  boughs 
into  Syria,  and  another  among  the  freedmen  of  the 
South,  and  another  into  the  National  Temperance 
Society,  and  many  another  into  scores  and  scores 
of  wide  and  heaven-directed  charities.  There  are 
lessons  for  young  men  to  be  gathered  from  off 
these  beautiful  boughs.  When  a  tree  rises  so 
.  high,  spreads  so  widely,  and  stands  so  long,  it 
is  well  to  inquire  about  its  roots,  and  what  nour- 
ished and  watered  them. 

Mr.  Dodge  was  happy  in  his  birthplace  and 
lineage.  From  the  days  of  Jonathan  Edwards, 
little  Connecticut  has  given  more  leaders  of  relig- 


138  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

ious  thought  to  the  nation  than  any  other  common- 
wealth. The  boy's  father  was  a  man  of  culture ; 
but  the  boy  himself  had  no  educational  advantages 
beyond  those  of  the  Yankee  common  school,  and 
at  fifteen  he  was  the  errand-running  lad  in  a  Pearl 
street  dry  goods  store.  He  swept  the  floors  and 
took  down  the  shutters  every  morning ;  but  the 
best  outfit  which  the  homespun  lad  brought  into 
the  great  city  was  the  grace  of  God  in  his  heart. 
At  the  early  age  of  twelve  he  was  thoroughly  con- 
verted to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  was 
fairly  "  rooted"  and  built  up  in  him  and  established 
in  the  faith. 

While  many  persons  who  have  been  regenerated 
late  in  life  have  yielded  some  good  fruit,  as  from  a 
graft  set  into  an  old  tree,  yet  it  holds  true  that  the 
most  effective  Christians  have  grown  up  in  Christ 
from  early  childhood.  The  roots  of  character  were 
not  poisoned  by  long  contact  with  a  bad  soil. 

Young  Dodge  was  a  Puritan,  eschewing  all 
sensual  amusements  and  entertainments  of  a  ques- 
tionable character.  He  soon  learned  to  say  "No," 
and  never  outgrew  the  use  of  that  most  decisive 
monosyllable.  He  continued  to  be  a  Puritan  to 
the  end  of  his  noble  life,  but  without  any  sour, 
severe  austerities.  The  solid  rock  was  well  over- 
grown with  fragrant  flowers,  but  the  rock  was  there. 
In  an  age  of  increasing  laxities  on  many  questions 
of  Christian  practice,  and  exposed  to  the  peculiar 
temptations  of  wealth  and  social  prominence,  Mr. 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  139 

Dodge,  the  man,  never  outgrew  or  even  diluted  the 
ingrained  Puritanism  of  his  boyhood.  The  world 
knew  him  most  widely  for  his  munificent  gifts  of 
money  to  innumerable  objects ;  but  after  thirty 
years  of  intimate  intercourse  with  him  I  was  never 
half  so  much  impressed  with  his  generosity,  as  by 
his  intense,  immovable  conscientiousness.  So  emo- 
tional in  his  temperament  that  he  cried  like  a  child 
under  Cough's  stories  or  Sankey's  songs,  yet  the 
central  trunk  of  his  religion  was  conscience.  The 
word  "ought"  always  gave  the  casting  vote.  A 
God-honoring  conscience  was  the  tap-root  of  his 
character,  and  the  loss  of  such  a  conscience  is  a 
sorer  bereavement  to  the  country  than  the  loss  of 
his  bountiful  purse. 

The  phrase  "  Christian  Worker  "  is  used  so  freely 
nowadays  in  certain  quarters  that  to  some  it  savors 
of  repulsive  cant.  To  Mr.  Dodge  it  belonged  right- 
fully as  it  did  to  Barnabas  or  Paul.  Presiding  at 
public  meetings  or  sitting  in  boards  of  Christian 
benevolence,  are  the  utmost  extent  of  many  excel- 
lent men's  labor ;  but  Mr.  Dodge  was  taught  by 
that  master-workman,  Harlan  Page,  fifty  years  ago, 
that  the  true  method  of  winning  souls  to  Christ  is 
by  close  personal  appeal.  When  young,  Mr.  Dodge 
came  into  Harlan  Page's  Sunday-school  and  asked 
for  a  class.  Page  said  to  him :  "  Yonder  is  a 
bench.  Go  out  and  find  a  class  for  yourself." 
That  hint  lasted  a  lifetime.  During  the  great 
revival  of  1858  Mr.  Dodge  was  untiring  in  his  per- 


140  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

sonal  labors  in  inquiry  meetings  and  in  his  visits  to 

individuals   in   their  homes Love  of 

Jesus  and  love  of  souls  were  the  master-passion  of 
his  being.  A  tree  of  such,  broad-limbed  benefi- 
cence required  not  only  strong  and  fertile  soil,  but 
perpetual  watering.  There  was  a  perennial  verdure 
in  Mr.  Dodge's  piety  and  unceasing  yield  of  spirit- 
ual fruits,  because  his  roots  were  moistened  by 
communion  with  God.  His  earliest  morning  hour 
he  set  apart  for  his  Bible  and  his  private  devo- 
tions. And  if  he  came  down  among  his  business 
associates  with  his  face  shining  with  cheerfulness 
and  sunny  kindness,  it  was  because  he  had  been  on 
the  mount  with  his  Master.  No  fountain  in  the 
public  park  can  rise  higher,  steadily,  than  its  spring- 
head ;  no  man  can  steadily  maintain  a  pure,  force- 
ful life  before  his  fellowmen  unless  his  inner  life  is 
hid  with  Christ  in  God.  The  condition  of  a  tree 
soon  reports  where  its  roots  are,  and  what  they  are 
about.  Dryness  below  ground  soon  means  dryness 
above  ground.  The  greater  the  activity  before  the 
world,  the  deeper  should  be  the  secret  intercourse 
of  the  heart  with  God.  It  was  not  merely  in  revival 
seasons  and  in  special  spasms  of  philanthropy  that 
William  E.  Dodge  was  recognized.  Every  year 
was  a  bearing  year  with  that  grand  old  Vergalieu- 
tree.  The  ground  under  his  boughs  always  had 
some  delicious  bounty  for  every  basket.  Pulpits 
are  eloquent  only  on  the  Sabbath.  Mr.  Dodge's 
"sermons  in  shoes"  were  on  their  errands  of 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  141 

mercy  and  power  on  every  day  of  the  week.  If  he 
was  a  great  merchant  he  was  a  still  greater  minis- 
ter of  righteousness  and  charity  to  his  fellow-men. 

CLXXX. 

They  tell  us  that  in  Scotland  is  a  battle-field  on 
which  the  natives  of  the  soil  and  the  Saxons  once 
met  in  terrible  conflict.  No  monument  marks  the 
scene  of  the  bloody  fight.  All  over  the  field  grows 
the  beautiful  Scotch  heather  except  in  one  spot. 
There  a  little  blue  flower  grows  abundantly.  No 
flowers  like  them  are  to  be  found  for  many  a  league 
around.  Why  are  they  there?  The  reason  is 
this.  Just  in  the  spot  where  they  grow  the  bodies 
of  the  slain  were  buried,  and  the  earth  was  satu- 
rated with  the  blood  and  the  remains  of  the  un- 
happy victims.  The  seeds  of  these  flowers  were 
there  before.  As  soon  as  the  blood  touched  them, 
they  sprang  up.  They  developed.  And  every 
blue  flower  on  Culloden's  field,  as  it  bends  to  the 
mountain  breeze,  is  a  memorial  of  the  brave  war- 
riors who  dyed  that  heathery  sod  with  their  crim- 
son gore.  So  it  is  with  character.  The  seeds  of 
action  lie  deep  beneath  the  surface  —  the  seeds  of 
heroism  and  the  seeds  of  crime.  Good  and  evil 
germs  lie  latent  in  the  heart.  For  a  lifetime  they 
may  remain  unknown  and  unrecognized ;  perhaps 
never  are  developed  in  this  lower  world.  The 
seeds  of  the  blue  flowers  at  Culloden  would,  prob- 


142  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

ably,  have  lain  there  undetected,  to  this  day,  but 
for  the  trickling  about  them  of  human  blood.  That 
called  them  forth. 

CLXXXI. 

Every  man  has  in  himself  a  continent  of  undis- 
covered character.  Happy  is  he  who  acts  the 
Columbus  to  his  own  soul ! 

CLXXXII. 

It  is  not  the  man  who  drifts  with  the  current  of 
evil,  but  he,  who,  like  the  sure-anchored  rock, 
stems  the  current,  that  is  sure  to  arrest  the  popular 
attention  and  command  the  popular  heart. 

CLXXXIII. 

The  most  tremendous  word  in  the  English  lan- 
guage is  the  short,  yet  mighty  word,  No.  It  has 
been  the  pivot  on  which  innumerable  destinies 
have  turned  for  this  world  and  the  next. 

CLXXXIV. 

The  imagination  of  man  will  find  its  aliment.  If 
high  things  and  pure  things  are  not  within  its 
reach,  it  will  condescend  to  things  of  low  estate. 
If  it  is  not  restrained,  it  will  run  riot ;  if  it  is  not 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  143 

elevated  by  what  is  holy,  it  will  be  corrupted  and 
debauched  by  what  is  base. 

CLXXXV. 

When  men  fall  it  is  commonly  through  their 
unsuspected  weakness.  When  they  stand  it  is 
through  the  imparted  strength  of  God. 

CLXXXVI. 

There  laid  one  great  secret  of  the  apostles'  power 
in  winning  converts  to  Christ.  The  sermons  wore 
shoes.  I  honestly  believe  that  one  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  the  fewness  of  conversions  to  Christ  is 
that  there  is  so  little  preaching  for  Christ  in  the 
daily  lives  of  his  professed  disciples,  and  such  a 
fearful  amount  of  direct  preaching  against  him. 
Actions  speak  louder  than  words.  The  bad  ser- 
mons of  the  life  are  an  over-match  for  the  best 
sermons  on  Sunday  from  the  lips.  Every  life  is  a 
sermon.  Paul  himself  would  not  have  made  any 
converts  to  the  Gospel  of  the  Cross  if  he  had  not 
proved  to  the  world  that  "  Christ  liveth  in  me." 
His  own  heroic  and  holy  life  was  one  of  the  grand- 
est epistles  he  ever  produced.  One  great  reason 
for  the  sad  lack  of  conversions  to  Christ  in  our  day 
is,  that  so  many  of  the  sermons  in  shoes  lead  the 
wrong  way.  A  true  and  noble  life  is  the  mightiest 
of  discourses.  It  is  the  sermons  in  shoes  that  must 


144  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

convert  the  world  to  Jesus,  if  it  is  ever  to  be  con- 
verted. 

CLXXXVII. 

If  all  who  profess  and  call  themselves  Christians 
would  simply  live  out  their  holy  professions,  the 
conversion  of  the  world  would  soon  be  achieved. 
If  even  a  single  State  or  a  single  county  were 
thoroughly  Christianized  in  every  home,  every 
school,  every  place  of  business,  and  if  Jesus  shone 
out  in  the  domestic,  social,  and  civil  life  of  that 
whole  community,  then  the  whole  world  would  be 
attracted  to  look  at  so  beautiful  a  spectacle.  Then 
the  whole  world  would  see  what  men  and  women 
could  be  Christians/0r.  Infidelity  would  hang  its 
foolish  head  before  such  a  triumphant  argument 
for  the  religion  of  Calvary  and  the  Gospel.  But 
until  Christ's  representatives  live  out  more  thor- 
oughly, the  teachings  and  spirit  of  their  Lord,  there 
will  be  an  abundance  of  that  secret  scepticism 
which  steels  the  human  heart  against  God's  glorious 
Gospel. 

It  is  for  this  very  reason  that  so  much  of  the 
headway  gained  by  Sabbath  eloquence  is  lost  dur- 
ing the  other  six  days  of  counteracting  influence. 
One  clay  of  good  preaching  is  no  match  for  six 
days'  inconsistent  practice.  God  will  never  honor 
his  Church  with  complete  success,  until  it  com- 
pletely honors  him. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  145 

CLXXXVIII. 

Many  a  person  says  in  substance,  "  I  am  prevented 
from  becoming  a  Christian  by  seeing  so  many 
glaring  faults  in  church  members  with  whom  I  come 
in  contact.  My  standard  is  high,  and  they  do  not 
come  up  to  it.  These  people  represent  Christianity 
to  me,  and  they  do  not  make  it  attractive.  I  do 
not  discover  that  they  are  any  better  than  myself, 
and  I  make  no  profession. " 

You  say  that  there  are  counterfeit  Christians  to 
be   found,   which    is    sadly   true.     Will   you   take 
Christianity,  therefore,  on  their  false  representation 
of   it  ?     Christianity  is  a  divine  system  of  religion, 
whose  code  of  conduct  is  to  be  found  in  the  Bible, 
whose  Founder  is  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose 
offers   of   salvation    are  based  on  his  atonement, 
whose  spirit  and  teachings  are  represented  by  him, 
and  whose  claims  on  you  come  directly  from  God 
himself.     God   commands    repentance  of  sin,  the 
reception  of  his  crucified  Son  into  your  heart,  and 
an  obedience  to   his  pure,  beautiful,  holy,  and  life- 
elevating  commandments.     What  God  commands 
is  your  duty.     Yet  you  practically  assert  you  will 
not  perform  your  duty  to  God  and  your  own  soul, 
because  some  counterfeit  professor  does  not  perform 
his  !     Would  you  refuse  to  pay  your  note  when  it 
became  due,  because  some  knavish  neighbor  had 
wilfully  allowed  his  note  to  be  "  protested  ? "     Will 
another  man's  delinquencies,  or  even  his  hypocrisies 


146  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

screen  you  from  condemnation  at  the  bar  of  final 
judgment?  Christ's  offer  is  made  to  you;  his 
claims  are  laid  upon  you  ;  and  they  are  made  with- 
out the  slightest  reference  to  the  perfections  or 
imperfections  of  every  other  human  being  in  exist- 
ence. This  is  not  a  question  between  you  and 
your  neighbor ;  it  is  wholly  and  exclusively  between 
you  and  your  God  and  Saviour. 

No  one  ever  takes  the  pains  to  counterfeit  any- 
thing that  is  not  essentially  valuable.  No  one 
issues  counterfeit  notes  on  a  broken  bank.  Do  you 
refuse  to  receive  a  genuine  "  greenback  "  because 
certain  rogues  have  issued  spurious  imitations  ? 
There  are  counterfeit  friends,  who  betray  secrets 
and  desert  you  at  a  pinch  ;  but  that  does  not  pad- 
lock your  heart  against  everybody  who  does  you  a 
genuine  kindness.  If  you  can  establish  the  fact 
that  every  church  member  is  either  deluded  or  a 
wilful  impostor  —  if  you  will  prove  that  Christianity, 
when  thoroughly  practised,  makes  its  possessor  no 
better,  no  purer,  no  more  benevolent,  no  holier, 
no  more  lovable  —  then  you  are  warranted  in  dis- 
trusting it.  If  every  note  issued  is  worthless,  then 

the  institution  is  a  fraud 

The  whole  pretence  of  refusing  to 

accept  Christ  simply  because  there  are  inconsistent 
or  fraudulent  professors  of  Christianity  in  society, 
is  one  of  the  most  transparent  tricks  with  which 
the  Arch-adversary  cheats  souls  out  of  hope  and 
Heaven.  If  you  are  an  "  outsider  "  from  the  king- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  147 

dom  of  God,  you  are  such  from  your  own  choice. 
All  the  cavils  about  the  shortcomings  or  the  dis- 
graceful delinquencies  of  unworthy  professors,  is  an 
excuse  thinner  than  a  cobweb.  It  will  not  holdim 
one  instant  in  the  last  great  searching  day.  If  you 
look  at  yourself  with  a  tithe  of  the  open-eyed  keen- 
ness that  you  look  at  the  faults  of  others,  you  might 
well  cry  out,  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner  ! 

CLXXXIX. 

As  soon  as  the  heart  accepts  Jesus,  the  mouth 
should  confess  him,  and  the  life  be  consecrated  to 
him. 

It  is  a  grievous  mistake  to  underrate  the  duty 
and  the  power  of  a  public  confession.  Genuine 
conversion  demands  it ;  Christ  enjoins  it.  With 
the  heart  man  believeth  unto  justification,  and 
"with  the  mouth  confession  is  made  unto  salva- 
tion "  (or  "  in  order  that  we  may  be  saved "). 
This  confession  must  be  the  open  avowal  of  Christ 
before  the  world.  The  very  idea  of  "  letting  your 
light  shine  before  men,"  requires  a  public  confes- 
sion of  your  Saviour.  When  I  visited  a  coal-mine 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  was  looking  through  its  dark 
chambers,  I  every  now  and  then  caught  a  glimpse 
of  a  moving  lamp,  and  I  could  track  it  all  through 
the  mine.  The  reason  was  that  the  miner  carried 
the  lamp  on  his  hat  —  it  was  a  part  of  himself,  and 
it  shone  wherever  he  went.  I  said  to  myself, 


148  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

would  that  in  this  dark  world  of  sin,  every  miner 
of  the  Master  carried  so  bright  a  lamp  to  show 
where  he  walks  !  No  sceptic  can  deny  the  beauty 
of  light,  or  refute  the  necessity  of  lamps. 

There  are  many  good  reasons  why  every  true 
convert  should  make  prompt  confession  of  Christ. 
He  owes  it  to  the  Saviour  who  died  for  him.  •  It  is 
but  little  that  you  can  do,  even  at  your  utmost,  for 
your  Divine  deliverer ;  do  not  begrudge  him  any 
service  he  asks.  It  will  strengthen  your  convic- 
tions of  heart.  There  is  danger  that  the  best  affec- 
tions may  cool  off  if  they  are  not  allowed  to  act. 
If  you  commit  yourself  for  Christ,  he  still  more 
aboundingly  commits  himself  for  you.  "Them 
that  honor  me,  I  will  honor."  "  Him  that  confes- 
seth  me,  I  will  confess."  Remember  also  that 
want  of  will  to  confess  Christ  really  indicates  a 
want  of  heart  to  believe  in  him.  "  If  we  deny  him, 
he  will  deny  us."  An  open,  hearty  avowal  of 
Christ,  especially  if  it  be  attended  with  a  beautiful 
and  consistent  living,  has  a  prodigious  influence 
upon  others.  It  was  the  sight  of  the  cured  cripple 
at  the  "  Gate  Beautiful "  which  did  so  much  to 
convince  the  scoffers  at  Jerusalem.  "Beholding 
the  man  which  was  healed  standing  with  them, 
they  could  say  nothing  against  it."  As  to  your 
fear  that  you  may  not  be  able  to  hold  out,  that  de- 
pends upon  your  holding  on  to  Jesus.  While  you 
are  in  Jesus'  hands.no  man  — or  devil — can  pluck 
you  from  them.  Be  sure  that  you  are  there.  No 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  149 

self-searching  can  be  too  thorough,  and  no  heart- 
probing  be  too  deep,  before  you  join  Christ's 
Church.  Public  confession  without  heart-conver- 
sion is  more  than  a  mistake;  it  is  a  pitiable  cal- 
amity ;  for  if  a  genuine  confession  is  a  fountain  of 
joy,  a  false  confession  is  a  running  sore  of  sorrows 
and  of  shame. 

cxc. 

In  the  spiritual  world,  that  professor  is  but  a 
lean,  poverty-stricken  starvling,  who  never  gets 
beyond  the  infantile  condition  in  which  he  stood 
for  the  first  time  at  Christ's  table.  Such  profes- 
sors there  may  be  in  every  church.  Their  single 
talent  is  hidden  in  a  napkin  — a  very  small  napkin. 
What  God  bestowed  upon  them  at  the  time  of 
conversion  is  all  that  they  have  now;  if  there  has 
been  any  change,  it  has  been  rather  a  reduction 
than  a  growth.  Such  began  small — they  con- 
tinue smaller.  They  never  were  anything  but 
rivulets,  trickling  with  a  slender  thread  of  water 
among  the  barren  stones,  at  the  mercy  of  every 
August  drought,  and  well  nigh  drunk  up  by  every 
thirsty  noonday  sun.  Year  after  year  they  trickle, 
trickle  —  trickle — until  death  dries  them  up,  and 
nobody  misses  them.  They  watered  nothing,  they 
refreshed  nobody,  and  blessed  no  living  thing. 
Earth  is  little  the  poorer  for  losing  them  ;  Heaven 
scarcely  the  richer  for  gaining  them. 


150  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXCI. 

The  worldling  withholds  no  toil,  no  sacrifices  that 
are  needful  to  secure  his  coveted  gains  or  honors. 
The  merchant  begrudges  not  the  evenings  spent 
away  from  his  own  fireside,  if  those  extra  hours 
over  his  ledgers  will  give  but  an  extra  dividend  of 
profits.  The  sculptor  counts  not  the  long  months 
wasted,  which  see  him  with  hammer  and  chisel 
pursuing  the  imprisoned  figure  which  his  keen  eye 
detects  within  the  block  of  Parian  marble.  And 
the  children  of  light  must  carry  into  their  service 
of  Christ  the  same  untiring  ardor,  the  same  zeal, 
and  the  same  self-denial  by  which  the  children  of 
the  world  win  wealth  and  honor  and  emoluments. 
Oh,  for  a  holy  enthusiasm  !  a  holy  covetousness  to 
become  rich  toward  God  ! 

CXCII. 

A  growing  believer's  course  is  like  yonder  river's 
— its  birthplace  some  secluded  fountain  under  the 
mossy  rock.  Cool  and  clear,  it  steers  its  modest 
path  whithersoever  God  shall  lead  it,  laughing 
evermore  and  leaping  to  its  own  silvery  music. 
For  long  we  lose  sight  of  it.  Then  we  meet  it 
again,  no  longer  a  wayside  brook,  but  a  deep-voiced 
river  beating  against  its  banks,  swelling  up  to 
kiss  the  marge  of  green  meadows  —  winding  around 
the  highland's  base  —  rolling  on  its  majestic  march 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  151 

until  it  spreads  out  into  a  hospitable  bay,  on  whose 
placid  bosom  fleets  ride  at  anchor,  and  in  whose 
azure  depths  the  banners  of  all  nations  are  mir- 
rored. Such  is  the  outflow  of  a  rich  soul  —  every  clay 
widening  in  influence,  every  day  deepening  in 
experience,  every  day  running  purer  and  purer. 
To  human  eyes  such  believers  may  move  more 
slowly  as  old  age  draws  on.  But  it  is  because  the 
volume  of  their  graces  is  increasing,  and  they  are 
nearing  the  ocean  of  eternity.  How  these  lives 
gladden  the  regions  through  which  they  pass ! 
How  they  mirror  back  the  glory  of  Christ's 
gracious  handiwork!  How  they  bear  up  human 
hopes,  and  spread  themselves  out  like  broad, 
patient  rivers,  to  carry  all  burthens  that  are 
launched  on  their  bosoms ! 

CXCIII. 

The  most  unpopular  doctrine  to  preach  in  these 
times,  and  the  hardest  one  to  practice,  is  the  old- 
fashioned  apostolic  doctrine  of  self-denial.  This 
is  the  grace  that  pinches.  The  daily  battle  of 
Christian  principle  is  with  that  artful,  subtle, 
greedy  sinner,  self.  And  the  highest  victory  of 
our  religion  is  to  follow  Jesus  over  the  rugged 
path  of  self-denial.  This  is  mainly  to  be  done  in 
the  little  every-day  acts  of  life. 

The  great  occasions  that  demand  sublime  sacri- 
fice are  few  and  rare. 


152  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXCIV. 

This  is  not  an  age  of  heroic  Christianity. 
There  is  more  pulp  than  pluck  in  the  average 
Christian  professor,  when  self-denial  is  required. 
The  men  and  women  who  not  only  rejoice  in  doing 
their  duty  for  Christ,  but  even  rejoice  in  overcom- 
ing uncomfortable  obstacles  in  the  doing  it,  are 
quite  too  scarce.  The  piety  that  is  most  needed 
is  a  piety  that  will  stand  a  pinch  ;  a  piety  that 
would  rather  eat  an  honest  crust  than  fare  sumptu- 
ously on  fraud ;  a  piety  that  can  work  up  stream 
against  currents  ;  a  piety  that  sets  its  face  like  a 
flint  in  the  straight,  narrow  road  of  righteousness. 
We  need  more  of  the  Christianity  that  steadfastly 
sets  its  face  toward  Christ's  Word  and  holy  will. 
An  ungodly  world  will  be  compelled  to  look  at  such 
Christly  living  as  at  "  the  sun  shining  in  its 
strength."  God  loves  to  look  at  those  who  carry 
Jesus  in  their  faces.  Of  such  is  the  kingdom 
of  Heaven. 

CXCV. 

The  whole  methods  and  results  as  practised  by 
Christ  are  just  the  opposite  of  those  attempted  by 
the  world.  The  policy  of  the  worlding  is  to  get 
rich  by  accumulation.  The  policy  of  Christ's  fol- 
lower is  to  get  rich  by  renouncing.  Get  all  you 
can  and  keep  what  you've  got  is  the  world's  motto. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  153 

Christ's  maxim  is  he  that  is  not  willing  to  leave  all 
and  follow  me  cannot  be  my  disciple.  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.  True  peace  of 
mind  belongs  only  to  the  self-renouncing  spirit. 

CXCVI. 

How  often  do  we  ever  hear  a  sermon,  or  ever  think 
about  poor  Rizpah  ?  There  she  sits  —  in  the  sacred 
story — for  five  long,  weary  months  upon  the  sack- 
cloth spread  on  the  rock  of  Gibeah.  The  noon- 
day sun  pours  down  its  heats  upon  her  head,  and 
the  midnight  its  chilling  dews,  but  they  cannot 
drive  her  from  her  steady  vigil  beside  the  forms  of 
her  two  crucified  sons.  From  the  early  harvests 
of  April  to  the  early  rains  of  October  she  suffers 
neither  the  birds  of  the  air  to  rest  on  them  by  day, 
nor  the  beasts  of  the  field  by  night.  The  wayfarers 
by  the  northern  road  from  Jerusalem  grow  accus- 
tomed to  the  strange,  sad  spectacle  of  that  heart- 
broken mother  guarding  from  vulture  and  jackal 
the  remains  of  her  beautiful  Mephiboseth  and 
Armoni. 

Those  two  youths  were  crucified  ;  there  seems 
but  little  doubt  of  that.  They  were  sacrificed  to 
appease  the  wrath  of  the  Gibeonites  for  the  cruel- 
ties once  practised  upon  them  by  the  hands  of  their 
father,  Saul.  If  we  could  ask  that  long-enduring 
woman,  Rizpah,  what  enabled  her  to  stand  those 
five  months  of  severe  strain,  her  answer  would  be 


154  RIGUT  TO  THE  POINT. 

in  one  single  word,  Love.  It  was  the  quenchless 
affection  of  a  true  mother's  heart.  It  transcends 
every  other  earth-born  affection.  It  can  neither  be 
"  chilled  by  selfishness,  nor  daunted  by  danger, 
nor  weakened  by  worthlessness,  nor  stifled  by  in- 
gratitude." This  was  the  chord  that  bound  Rizpah 
to  that  long  vigil  on  the  desolate  rock,  and  stood 
the  tremendous  strain. 

There  is  a  lesson  for  every  Christian  in  this 
touching  episode  of  the  mater  dolorosa  on  the 
rock  of  Gibeah.  There  is  only  one  principle  in 
the  human  heart  which  can  withstand  the  severe 
strain  which  the  daily  wear  and  tear  of  temptation 
and  trial  bring  upon  us.  It  is  love  for  Jesus. 

Love  of  Jesus  is  essential  Christianity.  It  en- 
dureth  all  things;  it  never  faileth.  No  privations 
can  starve  it,  and  no  burdens  can  break  it  down. 
It  keeps  the  heart  of  the  frontier  missionary  warm 
amid  the  snows  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  gives 
sweetness  to  the  crust  which  the  overworked 
seamstress  cats  in  her  lonely  lodging  —  disdaining 
the  wages  of  sin.  It  is  the  core  of  all  the  piety 
which  Christ  loves  to  look  at.  It  is  the  only  cure 
also  of  the  reigning  worldliness,  and  covetousness, 
and  fashion-worship  which  have  made  such  spiritual 
havoc  in  too  many  churches. 

The  test-question  for  every  Christian  life  is  — 
Have  I  in  my  inmost  heart  a  love  of  Jesus  strong 
enough  to  stand  the  strain  ?  My  religious  profes- 
sion has  lost  its  novelty ;  will  it  hold  out  ?  Tempta- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  155 

tions  will  come ;  shall  I  conquer  them,  or  break  ? 
Christ  demands  constant  loyalty ;  can  I  be  true  to 
him  ?  Am  I  as  ready  to  stand  watch  day  and  night 
to  protect  his  honor  as  poor  Rizpah  was  to  protect 
the  lifeless  forms  of  her  beloved  from  the  birds  and 
the  beasts  ?  These  are  the  questions  that  touch 
the  very  marrow  of  our  religion.  They  underlie 
all  our  heart-life,  our  church-life,  and  the  very 
existence  of  every  work  of  self-denying  charity. 

My  brother,  there  is  only  one  way  to  be  a  staying 
Christian,  a  thorough,  soul-savins:  Christian.      It  is 

y  o     *  o 

to  get  the  heart  full  of  Jesus — so  full  that  the 
world  and  the  lusts  of  the  flesh  and  the  devil  can 
get  no  foothold.  Whether  you  are  a  pastor  long- 
ing for  a  New  Year's  blessing  on  your  flock,  or  a 
Sabbath-school  teacher  set  in  charge  of  young  im- 
mortals, or  a  parent  guarding  the  fireside  fold,  or  a 
philanthropist  toiling  for  the  ignorant,  the  suffer- 
ing, and  the  lost,  you  need  this  ever-living  main- 
stay and  inspiration.  If  you  only  love  Jesus  you 
will  love  to  live  for  him  and  to  labor  for  him. 
Jacob  toiled  seven  years  faithfully  for  Rachel,  and 
they  seemed  unto  him  but  a  few  days  for  the  love 
which  he  had  to  the  beautiful  maiden  in  the  fields 
of  Laban.  Love's  labors  were  light.  Would  you 
then  be  a  lightsome,  joyous  laborer  in  Christ's 
vineyard  ?  Get  your  heart  full  of  him.  Would 
you  be  a  power  in  your  church  ?  Get  the  heart 
full  of  Jesus.  Would  you  be  kept  safe  from  back- 
sliding ?  Then  keep  yourself  in  the  love  of  your 


156  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Saviour.  Put  that  master  affection  so  deep  down 
that  it  shall  underlie  all  selfishness  ;  so  deep  that 
the  frosts  of  the  current  scepticism  cannot  reach 
it  ;  so  deep  that  the  frictions  of  daily  life  cannot 
wear  upon  it ;  so  deep  that  the  power  of  temptation 
cannot  touch  it ;  so  deep  that  even  when  old  age 
dries  up  the  other  affections  of  our  nature,  this  un- 
dying love  shall  flow  like  an  Artesian  well. 

Look  at  that  steadfast  Rizpah  watching  beside 
the  crosses  of  her  crucified  sons.  She  stood  tJie 
strain  —  until  her  noble  constancy  won  the  King's 
eye  and  secured  their  honorable  burial.  There  is 
an  infinitely  holier  Cross,  an  infinitely  Diviner 
sacrifice  that  demands  our  steadfast  loyalty.  If  a 
mother's  love  could  endure  so  much,  what  will  not 
the  love  of  a  redeemed  soul  bear  for  its  Redeemer? 
Oh,  for  a  fresh  baptism  of  this  mighty  love  !  A 
fresh  and  a  full  in  pouring,  so  that  no  accursed 
spirit  of  the  world,  no  temptation,  no  self-indulg- 
ence, no  —  nor  any  other  creature  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus  our  Lord. 

CXCVIT. 

There  are  a  great  many  times  in  our  lives  when 
our  "strength  is  to  sit  still."  Motion  is  good  in 
its  time,  but  so  is  meditation,  so  is  quiet  study,  so 
is  a  patient  waiting  on  God.  If  a  bucket  is  to  be 
filled  from  a  spout  of  water,  the  best  place  for  that 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POIXT.  157 

bucket  is  to  keep  it  under  the  stream  until  it 
is  full.  We  soon  run  empty  of  grace,  and  need 
replenishing,  and  need  to  be  "  filled  unto  all  the 
fulness  of  God." 

The  cry  of  the  hour  is  for  more  work.  But 
genuine  work  consumes  strength.  The  most  labo- 
rious farmer  must  halt  his  team  occasionally  at  the 
plow  and  rest ;  he  must  go  in  from  the  hot  harvest 
field  and  sit  down  at  his  table  and  refresh  his 
weary  frame.  An  army  is  never  in  so  good  a  trim 
for  service  in  battle  as  after  a  sound  sleep  and  a 
morning  meal.  So  every  servant  of  Jesus  must 
often  recruit  his  spiritual  strength  by  sitting  down 
at  his  Master's  feet,  in  prayer,  in  meditation,  in 
reading  Christ's  words  and  thinking  about  them. 

, 

The  disciples  were  not  losing  time  when  they  sat 
down  beside  their  Master  and  held  quiet  converse 
with  him  under  the  olives  of  Bethany  or  by  the 
shores  of  Galilee.  Those  were  their  school-hours  ; 
those  were  their  feeding-times.  The  healthiest 
Christian,  the  one  who  is  best  fitted  for  godly 
living  and  godly  labors,  is  he  who  feeds  most  on 
Christ.  Here  lies  the  benefit  of  Bible-reading,  and 
of  secret  prayer.  The  very  act  of  sitting  down 
quietly  with  our  Crucified  Redeemer  at  his  table 
of  love,  has  its  signification. 

Let  us  not  forget  either  that  to  be  instructed 
we  must  come  often  to  the  feet  of  Jesus.  The 
transcendent  truths  of  the  atonement  and  the  new 
birth  were  revealed  to  Nicodemus  when  he  was 


158  BK4HT  TO  THE  POINT. 

sitting  as  an  inquirer  beside  the  Great  Teacher. 
The  woman  of  Sychar  found  a  well-spring  of 
truth  while  she  was  listening  in  the  hot  noonday 
to  a  person  who  told  her  all  things  that  she  had 
been  doing  in  her  shameful  past.  We  need  just 
such  discoveries  about  ourselves.  There  is  spirit- 
ual education  in  contact  with  Christ.  When  he 
says  to  us,  "  Come  unto  me,"  he  does  not  only 
mean  that  we  must  come  for  forgiveness  and  sal- 
vation, but  also  for  instruction  and  for  communion. 
There  are  two  sides  in  the  best-developed  Chris- 
tian. There  is  a  Martha-site  which  is  employed 
in  benevolent  activities,  in  teaching  others,  in 
going  about  doing  good.  Some  Christians  over-do 
this  side,  and  neglect  the  other  side.  They  keep 
on  the  go  in  a  ceaseless  round  of  excitement. 
They  do  not  enough  develop  the  Mary-side  of 
character  —  or  that  habit  of  self-study,  prayer, 
reflection  and  heart-converse  with  their  Lord. 
With  such  there  is  a  tendency  to  noise,  hurry, 
worry,  and  to  superficiality.  Shallow  brooks  are 
noisy ;  there  are  stiller  waters  that  run  deep,  and 
do  not  run  dry.  The  busiest  and  most  benevolent 
Martha  must  often  take  Mary's  place  at  the 
Master's  feet,  both  to  learn  his  will,  and  to  drink 
in  his  Spirit.  We  do  not  read  much  about  Paul's 
quiet  hours  or  secret  devotions ;  yet  he  must  have 
had  constant,  close  fellowship  with  his  Lord,  and 
deep  meditation  and  soul-fillings,  or  he  never  could 
have  stood  the  strain  or  the  drain  of  his  public 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  159 

achievements.  All  the  most  effective  men,  the 
Augustines,  Bernards,  Luthers,  Bunyans,  Ed- 
warclses,  and  Paysons,  have  drawn  their  strength 
and  inspirations  from  secret  communion  with  their 
divine  Lord.  When  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  these 
mighty  men  were  little  children. 

In  our  hours  of  sorrow  there  is  no  place  for 
consolation  like  that  in  which  we  feel  his  ever- 
lasting arms  put  under  our  heads.  Oh  !  how  his 
arms  do  rest  us !  How  soothing  to  lie  where 
John  did  on  that  bosom  of  infinite  love  !  There 
is  room  for  all  of  us  there.  We  can  hear  him 
saying,  "  Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled.  My 
peace  I  give  unto  you.  Where  I  am,  ye  shall  be 
also.  If  ye  abide  in  me  and  I  in  you,  ye  may  ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you." 

The  last  lines  that  Frances  R.  Havergal  ever 
wrote,  express  the  longings  of  the  soul  that  sits  at 
Jesus'  feet,  and  looks  up  into  his  countenance  : 

I  am  so  weak,  dear  Lord,  I  cannot  stand 

One  moment  without  Thee  ; 
But  oh,  the  tenderness  of  Thine  enfolding  I 
And  oh,  the  faithfulness  of  Thine  upholding  I 
And  oh,  the  strength  of  Thy  right  hand  — 
That  strength  is  enough  for  me. 

I  am  so  needy,  Lord !  and  yet  I  know 

All  fulness  dwells  in  Thee  ; 
And  hour  by  hour  that  never-failing  treasure 
Supplies  and  fills  in  overflowing  measure, 
My  least,  my  greatest  need.     And  so 
Thy  grace  is  enough  for  me. 


160  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CXCVIII. 

There  was  one  spot  on  earth  which  Jesus  seems 
to  have  especially  loved.  It  "was  his  wont  "  to  go 
there.  As  John  was  his  favorite  disciple,  the 
family  of  Lazarus,  his  favorite  household,  Galilee 
his  favorite  water,  so  Olivet  his  favorite  mountain. 
An  Oriental  city,  with  its  crowded  and  filthy 
streets,  could  have  no  charm  for  such  a  spirit  as 
his.  When  duty  called  our  Lord  into  Jerusalem, 
he  went  there  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  could  escape  from 
its  din  he  bent  his  footsteps  over  the  Valley  of 
Kedron  to  the  quiet  Mount  of  Olives.  It  afforded 
him  a  blessed  asylum  from  noisy  traffickers,  chur- 
lish scribes,  and  insolent  Pharisees.  Olivet  al- 
ways treated  him  kindly.  Olivet  cast  no  stones  at 
him.  Her  ancient  trees  gave  him  cool  shelter 
from  the  noonday  heat  and  the  heavy  night  dews. 
Her  flowers  talked  to  him  of  their  Creator  — 
Jesus  —  and  her  verdant^turf  spread  a  couch  for  his 
weary  limbs. 

Every  Christian  should  have  his  Olivet  also. 
If  Jesus  needed  an  Olivet  for  quiet  communion 
and  prayer,  surely  his  earthly  followers  need  one 
still  more.  No  Christian  can  afford  to  live  con- 
stantly in  the  whirl.  Daniel  needed  to  have  an 
Olivet  in  his  chamber  amid  Babylon's  sins  and 
impiety.  Peter  found  his  on  a  housetop  in  Joppa. 
Let  every  child  of  Jesus  resolve  that  he  will  have 
a  place  and  a  time  for  meeting  his  dear  Master 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  .  161 

alone,  and  he  will  go  forth  from  such  holy  inter- 
views with  his  face  shining  and  his  strength  re- 
newed. Our  Olivets  will  prepare  us  for  that  mount 
of  heavenly  glory,  when  we  shall  see  Jesus  as  he 
is. 

CXCIX. 

A  soul  that  is  rooted  into  Christ  will  thrive  like 
a  tree  planted  by  the  rivers  of  water.  The  leaves 
shall  not  wither,  and  death  will  only  be  a  trans- 
planting into  glory. 


CC. 


Christ  is  the  secret  feeder  of  a  genuine  believer. 
The  life  that  springs  from  him  is  pure.  The  diffi- 
culty with  many  Christians  is  that  they  let  the 
stream  of  their  affections  run  through  ploughed 
fields,  and  alongside  the  dirty  highway  and  through 
foul  thoroughfares  until  the  current  becomes  fear- 
fully muddy  and  feculent,  A  clean  fountain  re- 
quires clean  channels  to  keep  the  waters  sweet  and 
transparent. 

CCL 

There  is  a  .wonderful  restfulness  for  worried 
hearts  in  this  single  assurance,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
alway."  This  may  be  called  Christ's  richest  and 
sweetest  promise. 


162  .  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

ecu. 

The  essential  of  purity  of  heart  is  to  keep  the 
evil  out.  This  requires  constant  vigilance.  For  a 
Christian  to  maintain  an  intimacy  with  the  ungodly 
is  like  letting  a  company  of  carousers  into  his 
house.  They  will  leave  their  ugly  marks  on  the 
furniture  —  their  odors  of  evil  drinks  and  noxious 
fumes  in  the  air  —  and  the  recollections  of  their 
poisonous  talk  in  the  memory.  A  heart  is  known 
by  the  company  it  keeps.  No  secret  sin  ought  to 
have  a  "night-key  "  to  its  doors.  No  wicked  prac- 
tice should  have  access  at  its  back-windows.  Many 
and  many  a  sly  temptation  will  present  itself  at  the 
door  decently  clad  "  in  the  white  robe,"  and  with  a 
smooth  word  on  its  tongue.  The  dangerous  sins 
are  those  which  are  "genteelly  dressed."  Where- 
fore the  Master  solemnly  cautions  us  to  watch  with 
prayer.  Blessed  is  that  servant  whom,  when  the 
Master  cometh,  He  finds  watching  at  every  door 
and  window. 

CCIII. 

"  It  matters  little  how  the  head  lies,  so  that  the 
heart  is  right  towards  God,"  said  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
to  the  executioner  who  asked  him  to  lay  his  head 
properly  on  the  fatal  block.  Keep  thy  heart  with 
all  diligence ;  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life  — 
is  the  command  of  Him  who  created  the  soul,  and 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  163 

knows  all  its  mysteries.  As  a  good  home  requires 
careful  housekeeping,  so  a  good  life  requires  care- 
ful heart-keeping. 

CCIV. 

There  is  an  old  Jewish  legend  —  found  in  the 
Talmud  —  that  King  David's  harp  was  kept  hang- 
ing over  the  royal  couch.  During  the  night  the 
north  wind  sometimes  blew  over  the  strings,  and 
they  vibrated  with  sweet  and  solemn  music. 

A  more  wonderful  instrument  than  any  which 
Israel's  Psalmist  ever  struck,  is  carried  in  the  human 
breast.  Upon  its  "  ten  strings  "  the  hand  of  God 
often  strikes,  and  evokes  most  sublime  melody. 
The  one  hundred  and  third  Psalm  was  originally 
played  upon  this  harp  of  the  heart.  Its  key-note  is 
"  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul !  let  all  that  is  within 
me  bless  his  holy  name."  At  another  time  the 
strains  of  that  harp  were  inexpressibly  plaintive  and 
mournful.  They  were  like  the  wail  of  a  sick  child. 
"  Have  mercy  upon  me,  O  God,  according  to  thy 
loving  kindness.  Against  thee  have  I  sinned  and 
done  this  evil  in  thy  sight.  The  sacrifices  of  God 
are  a  broken  spirit ;  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart, 
O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise." 

This  harp  of  the  soul  is  what  the  Apostle  refers 
to  when  he  exhorts  his  brethren  to  "sing  and  make 
melody  in  the  heart  to  the  Lord."  In  order  to 
produce  this  spiritual  music,  the  heart  must  be  in 


164  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

tune.  It  must  be  pitched  to  the  same  key  with  the 
will  of  God.  When  the  soul  is  in  harmony  with 
God,  and  gratitude  or  love  sweep  the  chords,  O 
what  glorious  melodies  they  roll  forth !  The 
remembrance  of  mercies  and  the  anticipations  of 
heaven  blend  together.  Every  string  — penitence, 
faith,  love,  joy,  hope — vibrates  in  unison,  and  the 
whole  soul  becomes  an  instrument  of  praise.  When 
the  heart  is  thus  in  tune,  it  is  delightful  to  let  the 
song  out  from  the  lips.  When  a  whole  congrega- 
tion of  worshippers  are  in  such  a  frame,  then  "let 
everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord ! " 
Such  music  is  a  rehearsal  for  Heaven's  oratorios. 

Samuel  Rutherford  when  he  was  on  his  dying 
bed,  cried  out,  "  When  I  awake  I  shall  be  satisfied 
with  his  likeness.  O  for  arms  to  embrace  him ! 
O  for  a  well-tuned  harp  ! "  As  he  uttered  these 
words  he  stretched  out  his  hands  as  though  he 
were  grasping  the  golden  harp  that  was  waiting  for 
him.  At  another  time  he  said,  "  Here  our  psalms 
must  be  short  ;  but  how  much  leisure  will  we  have 
there  to  sing." 

Alas,  we  are  not  all  Samuel  Rutherfords ;  and 
our  hearts  are  often  anything  else  than  "  well-tuned 
harps."  Sin  makes  horrible  discords  there.  Pas- 
sion strikes  one  string,  and  envy  another,  and  dis- 
content another,  and  unbelief  a  fourth,  until  the 
soul  becomes  like  a  bedlam  of  strange  noises.  No 
genuine  praise  can  go  up  from  such  disordered 
hearts.  The  most  devout  hymn  if  sung  in  such  a 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  165 

state  of   mind,  would  be  almost  an  abomination. 

Paul  tells  us  how  to  get  our  inward  harps  attuned 
aright,  and  how  to  keep  them  in  tune.  He  says, 
"Be  filled  with  the  Spirit."  Then  all  the  ten 
strings  will  sound  together.  Faith  will  strike  on 
her  string,  "  I  know  whom  I  believe ;  "  and  Hope 
will  respond,  "  I  shall  yet  praise  him  ; "  and  Patience 
on  a  low  note  responds,  "  All  things  work  together 
for  good  to  them  that  love  God;"  and  Gratitude 
chimes  in,  "  My  cup  runneth  over ;  "  and  Love 
touches  a  loud  key  that  rings  out,  "  Whom  have  I 
in  heaven  but  Thee,  and  none  on  earth  do  I  desire 
besides  Thee."  Such  music  as  this  has  issued  from 
chambers  of  poverty  and  beds  of  pain,  and  from 
even  the  brink  of  the  tomb.  Two  such  harps  were 
immured  in  a  Roman  dungeon  at  midnight,  and 
they  overflowed  into  a  song  that  made  the  dungeon 
shake,  and  aroused  all  the  prisoners. 

Happy  is  the  man  who  can  begin  to  rehearse  for 
Heaven  by  attuning  his  heart  to  the  will  of  God. 
He  is  like  the  old  Psalmist's  psaltery,  every  wind 
that  providence  sends  only  makes  music  in  him. 
Even  boisterous  gales  of  adversity  call  forth  grand 
and  sublime  strains  of  resignation.  When  he  is  in 
trouble,  he  "  giveth  songs  in  the  night."  The  kind 
acts  he  performs  for  others  touch  sweet  chords  in 
his  memory.  And  amid  all  the  harsh  and  jangled 
discords  of  this  world,  such  a  Christ-loving  soul  is  a 
harp  of  gold  making  constant  melody  in  the  ear  of 
God. 


166  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCV. 

A  genuine  "  revival  "  is  only  nothing  more  than 
the  nominal  condition  of  what  every  Christ-pene- 
trated church  should  be,  all  through  the  year. 
The  sin  and  shame  of  too  many  churches  is  that 
they  become  mere  barges  to  be  towed  along  by 
the  steam-tug  who  is  paid  so  many  thousands  a 
year  to  tow  them.  As  long  as  his  steam  holds  out, 
the  barge  goes  swimmingly.  When  the  cylinder 
explodes  from  over-pressure,  the  poor  tug  is  sent  to 
Europe  for  repairs,  or  goes  to  the  resting-place  of 
all  broken  machineries  of  body  and  mind,  in  the 
cemetery.  A  living  church  keeps  its  pastor  alive. 
A  pastor  who  has  a  ten-men  power  in  himself  can- 
not move  a  church  that  has  no  heart  to  worship 
and  no  "mind  to  work." 

CCVI. 

Nearly  all  revivals  start  with  a  single  man  or 
woman.  One  live  coal  can  kindle  a  great  flame. 

CCVII. 

"We  have  toiled  all  night,  and  caught  nothing," 
exclaimed  the  tired  and  hungry  disciples.  Then 
in  the  early  gray  of  the  daybreak  they  espied  their 
Master  on  the  beach  ;  the  net  is  cast  on  the  right 
side  of  the  ship,  and  it  swarms  with  fish  enough  to 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  167 

break  its  meshes.  Nearly  every  revival  season  I 
have  ever  passed  through  has  been  on  this  same 
fashion.  Difficulties  and  discouragements  have 
sent  us  to  our  knees,  and  then  we  have  been  sur- 
prised by  the  advent  of  the  Master  in  great  power 
and  blessing.  God  tests  his  people  before  he 
blesses  them.  The  night  is  mother  of  the  day ; 
trust  through  the  dark  brings  triumph  in  the 
dawn. 

CCVIII. 

Our  Master  keeps  ever  before  us  that  his  peo- 
ple are  to  be  the  lights  of  the  world.  Conversion 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  original  source  of  this 
light  ;  it  is  the  divine  illumination  of  the  heart 
hitherto  dark  in  sin.  Sometimes,  as  in  the  case  of 
Paul,  this  process  is  sudden.  Sometimes,  as  in 
the  case  of  John  Newton,  there  is  at  first  a  feeble 
germ,  like  the  blue  point  of  flame  on  a  candle-wick, 
and  this  germ  grows  into  a  full,  bright  blaze.  The 
beginning  of  true  religion  is  in  the  first  acts  of 
penitence,  the  first  yearnings  after  Christ,  the  first 

steps  of  obedience  to  him In  order  to 

shine,  a  Christian  does  not  need  great  talents,  or 
wealth,  or  conspicuous  position.  The  little  lamp 
by  which  a  housewife  threads  her  needle  is  as 
truly  luminous  as  is  the  huge  lantern  that  burns  in 
the  tower  of  the  City  Hall.  Every  consistent, 
right-living  child  of  God,  be  he  ever  so  humble,  is 


163  BIGHT  TO  THE  POIXT. 

a  candle  shining  in  the  spot  where  his  Lord  has 
placed  him.  What  we  need  most  is  not  the  blaze 
of  a  few  powerful  electric  lights  in  certain  con- 
spicuous places,  but  the  steady  shining  of  every 
lamp  in  the  whole  Church  of  Christ  over  the  land. 
A  genuine  revival  means  trimming  of  personal 
lamps. 

CCIX. 

The  reason  why  any  Christian  does  not  produce 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  is  simply  want  of  inward 
vigor  of  grace.  He  needs  the  tillage  of  prayer 
and  Bible-study,  and  a  deep  embroiling  of  new 
repentance  and  new  faith  in  Christ,  a  new  work  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Half  of  the  force  in  Christ's 
army  are  either  in  the  hospitals  or  off  on  furlough. 
The  spiritual  quickening  which  brings  these  use- 
less invalids  out  of  their  beds,  and  these  deserters 
back  into  the  ranks,  constitutes  a  genuine  revival. 

CCX. 

Every  genuine  revival  of  religion  has  a  divine 
side  and  a  human  side.  Every  such  revival  is  the 
gift  of  God  ;  yet  it  is  also  the  work  of  free  agents 
—  the  quickened  activity  of  good  men  and  women. 
When  the  winds  blow  upon  the  cinnamon-bushes, 
it  is  from  the  bushes  themselves  that  the  odors  flow 
out.  The  softest  of  zephyrs  cannot  draw  fragrance 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  169 

from  a  pigweed.  Faith  is  the  gift  of  God  ;  but  it 
is  also  your  act  and  mine.  Love  is  kindled  by 
contact  with  Christ ;  but  we  must  come  up  close 
to  him.  The  Holy  Spirit  may  waft  odors  from 
a  true  Christian  life ;  but  the  Christian  must  do  the 
living:  Dead  trees  yield  no  spices.  What  was 
the  secret  of  the  success  and  tremendous  power 
of  the  apostolic  church  ?  Every  tree  was  a  bearing 
tree.  Paul  in  his  pulpit,  Lydia  in  her  cloth-store, 
Dorcas  with  her  needle,  John  amid  his  flock  at 
Ephesus — each  and  all  were  "always  abounding 
in  the  work  of  the  Lord." 

CCXI. 

Nowhere  is  the  subtle  moral  influence  so  potent 
as  in  the  home  which  God  intended  to  be  the 
primary  training-school  for  the  commonwealth  and 
the  Church.  Puritan  homes  made  Puritan  charac- 
ter. Out  of  many  a  lowly  New  England  farmhouse 
with  a  rag  carpet  on  its  floor  and  a  few  godly  books 
on  its  table,  have  gone  the  Goodells,  the  Spauldings 
and  the  Mills,  to  our  early  foreign  missions.  They 
have  given  the  best  blood  to  the  American  Pulpit 
and  American  State.  It  was  the  religious  atmos- 
phere that  penetrated  the  very  core  of  character. 

No  Christian  government,  no  healthy  public 
conscience,  no  Bible-philanthropies,  no  godly  church 
life,  can  exist  without  their  roots  beneath  Chris- 
tian hearth-stones  and  family  altars. 


170  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCXII. 

Education  begins  early.  It  begins  in  infancy. 
It  begins  with  the  mother's  first  look  and  gentle 
word,  with  a  father's  smile  or  his  terrifying  frown. 
The  child  may  be  sweetened  by  a  sweet  atmos- 
phere about  its  cradle.  Or  it  may  be  fretted  into 
irritations  by  the  harsh,  peevish  words  and  sour 
looks  and  scoldings  which  make  a  Babel  of  the 
home.  Education  begins  with  the  tear  in  a 
mother's  eye,  with  the  first  doll  given  to  the  eager 
grasp,  with  the  sight  of  a  flower  on  the  table 
which  is  to  be  admired,  but  not  handled  ;  with  the 
first  "  No "  that  is  firmly  enforced ;  with  the 
thousand  other  sights  and  sounds  and  acts  that 
make  first  impressions.  These  are  the  most  last- 
ing. They  go  deepest,  and  never  are  obliterated. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  a  majority  of  all  our  men  and 
women  are  made  what  they  are  during  the  first  ten 
years  of  their  existence. 

CCXIII. 

The  highest  position  on  the  globe  is  to  be  a 
teacher.  Jesus  himself,  the  Apostles,  the  great 
shaping  characters  in  this  world,  have  been  those 
who  dropped  immortal  seeds  into  human  hearts. 
When  John  Elliott  had  reached  his  eighty-sixth 
year,  a  friend  visited  him  and  found  him  teaching 
the  alphabet  to  a  poor  Indian  child.  "  Why  don't 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  171 

you  rest  from  your  work  now  ? "  inquired  the 
friend.  The  old  hero  answered,  "  I  have  asked 
God  to  keep  me  useful  to  the  last,  and  now  that  I 
can  no  longer  preach,  he  gives  me  strength  to 
teach  this  poor  child."  Elliott  addressing  his 
dusky  crowds  of  savages  under  the  Massachusetts 
pines,  is  a  striking  character ;  but  Elliott  leaning 
from  his  arm-chair  to  guide  a  barbarian's  child 
through  the  alphabet  into  God's  Word,  is  sublime, 
apostolic,  CJirist-like !  As  a  picture  of  practical 
religion  it  is  as  beautiful  as  the  sight  of  dear  old 
Doctor  Muhlenberg  carrying  a  tray  of  dishes  from 
the  room  of  a  patient  in  St.  Luke's  Hospital.  When 
some  one  asked  him  why  he  did  not  call  a  servant, 
he  characteristically  replied  "  Oh !  I  am  only  a 
waiter  here  myself  in  the  Lord's  hotel."  It  is  a 
glorious  thing  to  be  one  of  the  Lord's  teachers  in 
the  Lord's  great  nursery. 

CCXIV. 

One  of  the  hardest  things  to  many  a  Christian 
is  to  serve  his  Saviour  as  a  "  private,"  when  his 
pride  tells  him  that  he  ought  to  wear  a  "  shoulder- 
strap  "  in  Christ's  army. 

CCXV. 

The  diadem  that  Jesus  wears  was  fashioned  on 
Calvary,  and  the  heavenly  crowns  which  we  may 


172 

aspire  to,  must  be  wrought  out  of  such  costly 
material  as  penitence,  submission,  suffering,  pa- 
tience, toil  and  self-crucifixion. 

CCXVI. 

If  the  Christ  of  Christianity  cannot  and  does 
not  endow  a  frail  sinner  with  supernatural  power 
to  resist  terrible  temptations,  then  is  Christianity 
a  confessed  imposture  and  delusion.  But  it  does 
stand  this  very  crucial  test.  Multitudes  have  given 
the  triumphant  testimony  that,  under  sore  pressure 
the  Lord  stood  with  them  and  strengthened  them. 
Their  testimony  has  always  been,  "  When  I  am 
weak,  then  am  I  strong"  —  that  is,  when  I  get 
emptied  of  self-trust  Jesus  comes  in  and  strength- 
ens me. 

CCXVII. 

Humility  is  the  chief  element  in  every  healthy, 
robust  Christian.  It  keeps  him  from  soaring  up 
into  self-conceit,  and  holds  him  down  in  an  implicit 
rest  on  Jesus,  as  his  rock  of  strength.  Anteus 
was  invincible  as  long  as  he  stuck  to  his  mother- 
earth. 

When  Hercules  got  him,  he  strangled  him.  No 
Christian  is  ever  conquered  while  he  lies  low  and 
firm  on  Christ.  Then  the  divine  strength  is  per- 
fected in  the  Christian's  weakness. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  173 

CCXVIII. 

Paul's  constant  endeavor  was  to  empty  himself 
of  Paul,  and  to  be  filled  with  the  fulness  of  his 
Lord.  In  October,  the  farmer  is  careful  to  get 
the  chaff  and  the  bran  out  of  his  granary,  in  order 
to  make  room  for  his  wheat.  He  empties,  in  order 
to  fill.  At  the  seaside  certain  molluscs  stick 
tightly  to  the  rocks.  Each  mollusc  clings  so  tena- 
ciously that  the  concussion  of  the  waves  cannot 
smite  it  off.  The  secret  of  its  hold  is  that  the 
mollusc  is  empty.  If  it  were  to  be  filled  either 
with  air  or  with  flesh,  it  would  drop  off  immedi- 
ately. This  illustrates  literally  the  condition  of 
every  humble,  honest,  healthy  believer  who  has 
been  emptied  of  self,  and  so  clings  by  a  divine  law, 
closely  to  the  Rock  of  Ages.  As  soon  as  he 
should  become  puffed  with  pride  or  gorged  with 
fleshly  lusts,  he  would  yield  to  the  wave  of  tempt- 
ation and  be  swept  away.  But  while  he  is  weak 
in  himself  he  is  immovable  through  Christ 
strengthening  him. 

CCXIX. 

The  first  essential  to  discipleship  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  was  the  willingness  to  deny  self,  and  to 
bear  a  cross  at  his  bidding.  That  principle  runs 
through  all  the  deepest,  richest,  Christian  experi- 
ence, and  will  do  so  to  the  end  of  time.  God's 


174  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

people  are  never  so  exalted  as  when  they  are 
brought  low ;  never  so  enriched  as  when  they 
are  emptied ;  never  so  advanced  as  when  they  are 
set  back  by  adversity ;  never  so  near  the  crown  as 
when  under  the  cross. 

ccxx. 

When  the  richest  American  of  his  day  was  in 
his  last  fatal  sickness,  a  Christian  friend  proposed 
to  sing  for  him,  and  the  hymn  he  named  was, 
"  Come,  ye  sinners,  poor  and  needy!'  "Yes,  yes," 
replied  the  dying  millionnaire,  sing  that  for  me  ;  I 
feel  poor  and  needy."  Yet  at  that  moment  the 
stock  markets  of  the  globe  were  watching  and 
waiting  for  the  demise  of  the  man  who  could  shake 
them  with  a  nod  of  his  head.  "  Poor  and  needy  !  " 
How  the  sand  sweeps  from  under  a  man's  soul 
in  such  an  hour  as  that ! 

CCXXI. 

Christian  cheerfulness  is  that  sunshiny,  hopeful, 
happy  frame  which  comes  from  heart-health.  Such 
a  temper  of  mind  doeth  the  body  good  "  like  a 
medicine."  For  many  a  lean  dyspeptic  is  dying  of 
sheer  worry  and  peevishness.  The  acrid  humors 
of  the  mind  strike  through  and  disease  the  diges- 
tive organs.  The  medicine  such  a  man  wants  is 
not  to  be  found  in  the  drug  store.  A  good  dose  of 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  175 

divine  grace,  with  a  few  grains  of  thankfulness,  and 
a  bracing  walk  on  some  labor  of  love  to  the  poor, 
will  do  more  to  put  healthy  blood  into  his  weazen 
skeleton  than  all  the  drugs  of  the  apothecary. 

Look  at  your  mercies  with  botk  eyes,  and  at 
your  troubles  and  trials  with  only  half  an  eye. 

Keep  your  heart's  window  always  open  toward 
Heaven.  Let  the  blessed  light  of  Jesus'  counte- 
nance shine  in.  It  will  turn  tears  into  rainbows. 

CCXXII. 

Contentment  is  true  heart-quiet  under  God's 
will.  Its  fountain  is  the  heart.  As  long  as  that 
keeps  sweet  and  satisfied  with  God,  there  is  not 
much  danger  of  acid  on  the  lips,  or  a  scowl  on  the 
brow.  The  real  marah  from  which  nearly  all  the 
grumbling  issues,  is  a  sour, ::  unsanctified  heart. 
Discontent  is  the  rust  which  tarnishes  the  bright- 
est profession,  and  gnaws  out  the  very  core  of 
faith.  It  never  removes  one  sorrow,  and  yet  kills 
a  hundred  joys.  It  disgraces  our  religion,  disgusts 
the  world,  and  insults  our  God.  Even  when  we 
are  on  a  cross -of  trial  it  only  mingles  a  cup  of 
vinegar  and  gall  to  make  our  sufferings  the  more 
bitter.  In  nothing  is  God's  forbearance  more  con- 
spicuous than  the  patience  with  which  he  bears 
with  chronic  grumblers. 

Strive  to  keep  a  good  conscience.  Seek  for  a 
fresh  invoice  of  faith.  Unbelief  can  scoff  and 


176  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

growl ;  faith  is  the  nightingale  that  sings  in  the 
darkest  hour.  Faith  can  draw  honey  out  of  the 
rock,  and  oil  out  of  the  flint.  With  Christ  in  pos- 
session and  Pleaven  in  reversion,  it  marches  to  the 
music  of  the  one  hundred  and  third  Psalm  over 
the  roughest  road,  and  against  the  most  cutting 
blast. 

CCXXIII. 

A  moping,  sour,  discontented,  grumbling  Chris 
tian  is  a  disgrace  to  the  name  he  bears.  If  such  a 
poor  bulrush  should  ask  a  shrewd  man  of  the  world 
to  embrace  Christianity,  the  man  might  well  reply, 
"  I  now  have  trouble  enough  of  my  own  already 
without  being  troubled  with  such  a  doleful  religion 
as  yours  is  ;  "  and  he  would  be  right  A  cheerful, 
sunny-faced  piety,  which  rejoices  in  the  Lord 
always,  wins  converts.  What  a  joyous  brace  of 
prisoners  were  those  two  men  who  were  locked 
down  in  Phillippi's  horrid  dungeon  at  midnight ! 
They  are  singing  down  there  until  the  old  Bastile 
rings  again.  The  other  prisoners  hear  them.  The 
Lord  has  put  a  new  song  into  their  mouths.  Those 
apostolic  Christians  had  their  mouths  filled  with 
joy  and  their  tongues  with  singing. 

CCXXIV. 

•     Look  on  God's  side  of  everything,  for  that  is  the 
bright  side.     His  clouds  always  have  silver  linings. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  177 

Look  more  at  the  promises  ;  more  at  Jesus,  the  un- 
complaining man  of  sorrows ;  more  at  the  glory 
which  is  not  far  off.  Strive  for  more  holiness  ;  for 
the  more  you  are  sanctified  the  better  will  you  be 
satisfied.  Be  sure  of  this  —  there  are  no  grumblers 
in  Heaven. 

CCXXV. 

There  is  only  one  practical  remedy  for  this 
deadly  sin  of  anxiety,  and  that  is  to  take  short 

views That  is  a  short  view  which 

only  takes  in  immediate  duty  to  be  done,  the  im- 
mediate temptation  to  be  met,  and  the  immediate 
sorrow  to  be  carried 

Sometimes  young  Christians  say  to  me,  "  I  am 
afraid  to  make  a  public  confession  of  Christ ;  I  may 
not  hold  out."  They  have  nothing  to  do  with 
holding  out;  it  is  simply  their  duty  to  hold  on. 
When  future  trials  and  perils  come,  their  Master 
will  give  them  help  for  the  hour,  if  they  only  make 
sure  that  they  are  his.  The  short  view  they  need 
to  take  is  a  close,  clear  view  of  their  own  spiritual 
wants,  and  a  distinct  view  of  Jesus  as  ever  at  hand 
to  meet  those  wants.  If  the  fishermen  of  Galilee 
had  worried  themselves  over  the  hardships  they 
were  to  encounter,  they  might  have  been  frightened 
out  of  their  apostleship  and  their  eternal  crowns. 

Some  of  us,  at  the  beginning  of  a 

year's  work,  are  tempted  to  overload  ourselves 


178  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

with  the  anticipation  of  how  much  we  have  to 
do  ;  we  need  not  worry  if  we  will  only  remember 
that  during  the  whole  year  there  will  be  only  one 
working  day,  and  that  is  —  to-day.  Sufficient  to 
each  day  is  the  labor  thereof. 

Once  more  we  say,  let  us  take  short  views.  Let 
us  not  climb  the  high  wall  till  we  get  to  it,  or  fight 
the  battle  till  it  opens,  or  shed  tears  over  sorrows 
that  may  never  come,  or  lose  the  joys  and  blessings 
that  we  have,  by  the  sinful  fear  that  God  will  take 
them  away  from  us.  We  need  all  our  strength  and 
all  the  grace  God  can  give  us  for  to-day's  burdens 
and  to-day's  battle.  To-morrow  belongs  to  our 
Heavenly  Father.  I  would  not  know  its  secrets  if 
I  could.  It  is  far  better  to  know  whom  we  trust, 
and  that  he  is  able  to  keep  all  we  commit  to  him 
until  the  last  great  day. 

CCXXVI. 

The  best  days  of  the  Church  have  always  been 
its  singing  days.  Luther  set  all  Germany  to  chant- 
ing the  Einfeste  burg,  and  the  priests  found  that 
unless  they  could  stop  the  contagion  of  holy  song, 
the  Reformation  would  spread  like  fire  in  a  stubble- 
field.  John  Wesley  was  a  master-builder  ;  but  the 
walls  of  Methodism  never  would  have  gone  up  so 
rapidly  if  they  had  not  been  built  to  Charles  Wes- 
ley's music.  That  one  hymn,  Jesus,  Lover  of  my 
Soul,  gave  the  pitch  to  a  thousand  praise-meetings. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  179 

When  a  soul  is  filled  with  the  joy  of  the  Lord,  the 
voice  of  song  becomes  as  natural  as  it  is  with  a 
group  of  happy  children  to  shout  for  glee.  Heaven 
is  full  of  seraphic  song,  because  Heaven  is  full  of 
seraphic  bliss.  And  he  who  has  Jesus  and  his 
grace  more  abundantly  in  his  soul,  will  break  forth 
into  singing.  We  even  read  in  the  prophet  Zepha- 
niah  that  the  Lord  God  rejoices  over  Zion  "  with 
singing ! " 

CCXXVII. 

Life  is  a  battle  with  many  a  sharp  encounter, 
many  an  agonizing  wound,  many  a  hard  bivouac. 
But  we  can  "make  it  ring"  with  the  voice  of 
serene  and  triumphant  praise.  We  do  not  sing 
enough.  Our  hearts  should  oftener  warm  with 
the  mercies  and  promises  and  loving  kindnesses  of 
our  God,  until  the  lips  should  break  forth  into  sing- 
ing. Heaven  is  vocal  with  God's  singers.  Those 
anthems  are  born  of  a  love  that  cannot  keep  silent. 
And  the  purest  and  most  perennial  fountain  of 
song  on  earth  is  a  soul  filled  full  with  the  presence 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

CCXXVIII. 

Singing  plays  a  great  part  in  God's  Word,  and 
in  God's  world.  The  first  song  we  read  of  was 
that  jubilant  anthem  which  rang  out  over  the  Red 


180  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Sea,  where  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  "  sang 
a  song  unto  the  Lord."  Was  there  no  singing 
ever  known  before  ?  There  must  have  been. 
Jubal  must  have  accompanied  his  harp  with  the 
voice.  When  Laban  scolded  Jacob  for  stealing 
away  so  slyly,  he  told  him  that  he  would  have 
cheered  his  going  "with  songs  and  tabret  and 
harp."  Perhaps  Noah's  family  relieved  their  lone- 
liness in  the  ark  by  some  lively  household  music. 
Nay  ;  Mother  Eve  may  have  crooned  a  lullaby  over 
her  first  baby.  The  highest  period  of  Jewish 
glory  was  the  highest  era  of  song.  Her  greatest 
king  was  the  king  of  singers.  "  I  will  sing  unto 
the  Lord  as  long  as  I  live,"  exclaims  the  royal 
Psalmist.  Our  Divine  Lord  and  his  disciples  cer- 
tainly sang  one  hymn  together  ;  and  it  is  likely 
that  they  often  mingled  their  voices  in  the  grand 
old  Hebrew  melodies.  What  an  exquisite  touch 
that  is  in  Job  where  a  "widow's  heart  is  made 
to  sing  for  joy."  So  Paul  and  Silas  felt  such 
inward  gratitude  and  joy  that  even  at  midnight  in 
their  noxious  and  filthy  dungeon,  they  pealed  out 
God's  praise.  Blessings  on  the  triumphant  grace 
that  giveth  songs  in  the  night !  When  a  soul 
is  filled  with  the  love  of  Jesus,  the  voice  of  praise 
is  irrepressible.  Martyrs'  cells  and  beds  of  anguish 
and  hovels  of  bitterest  poverty  have  all  been 
cheered  with  holy  song. 

Every  redeemed,  forgiven,  heaven-bound  heart 
should  be  a  robin  singing  in  the  branches  of  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  181 

tree  of  life.  Those  hours  in  which  we  do  the 
least  sinning  are  those  we  spend  in  singing  to 
our  God. 

CCXXIX. 

No  lay  of  Calvary  has  ever  yet  approached  in 
pathetic  grandeur  that  offering  of  Watts': 

When  I  survey  the  wondrous  Cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 

My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride. 

No  funeral  hymns  have  equalled  those  which 
issued  from  Watts'  pensive  spirit.  How  many  of 
us  can  recall  the  first  scenes  of  burial  which  we 
witnessed  in  our  early  homes  !  We  seem  to  see 
again  the  rural  neighbors  gathered  on  the  grass  be- 
fore the  door,  while  the  sun  shimmered  through  the 
trees  upon  the  group  around  the  open  coffin.  We 
seem  to  hear  again  to  the  sweet  strains  of  old 
China,  those  soul-melting  words  : 

Why  should  we  tremble  to  convey 

This  body  to  the  tomb  ? 
There  the  dear  form  of  Jesus  lay, 

And  left  a  long  perfume. 

His  body  rests  in  Bunfields,  the  Westminster 
Abbey  of  the  glorious  Puritans.  Close  by  the  gate, 
and  not  far  from  Bunyan's  grave,  is  a  plain  tomb, 


182  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

which  bears  the  name  of  Isaac  Watts,  the  father  of 
the  English  hymn. 

A  fine  hymn  is  the  consummate  flower  of  doctrine. 

ccxxx. 

Many  of  our  richest  hymns  are  prayers  in  metre. 
And  few  yearnings  break  forth  oftener  in  the 
psalmodies  of  God's  people  than  the  yearning  for 
soul  rest. 

Here  in  the  body  pent, 

Absent  from  Him  I  roam ; 
Yet  nightly  pitch  my  moving  tent 

One  day's  march  nearer  home. 

There  are  few  finer  verses  in  the  whole  range  of 
devotional  poetry.  It  is  the  pilgrim's  wayfaring 
song  as  he  pulls  up  the  tent-pins  every  morning, 
and  moves  onward  towards  his  everlasting  rest. 

CCXXXI. 

Never  do  what  you  cannot  ask  Christ  to  bless  ; 
and  never  go  into  any  place  or  any  pursuit  in 
which  you  cannot  ask  Christ  Jesus  to  go  with  you. 

CCXXXII. 

To  every  Christian  the  law  of  Christ  will  be 
the  law  of  his  pleasures.  Walking  in  the  Spirit,  he 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  183 

does  not  stop  to  fulfil  the  lusts  of  the  flesh.  Free 
to  choose  his  pleasures,  he  is  too  free  to  want  the 
sinful  ones.  As  when  we  listen  to  a  well-timed 
orchestra,  the  music  of  the  horns  mingles  with  the 
rich  swell  of  the  bugle  and  the  finer  notes  of  the 
delicate  viols,  so  a  true  Christian  life  should  be  full 
of  heaven-tuned  harmony,  in  which  pleasure  shall 
blend  with  toil,  in  which  work  shall  soften  play, 
and  recreation  shall  rise  into  that  strain  of  holy  or 
heroic  activities  which  impart  to  life  both  its  sweet- 
ness and  its  sinew.  Existence  on  earth  is  too  short 
to  be  wasted  in  play  ;  but  it  must  not  be  made 
shorter  by  unremitting  toil.  Whatsoever  ye  do,  do 
all  to  the  glory  of  God.  This  rule  permits  liberty, 
and  prohibits  license  ;  it  padlocks  the  door  to  every 
sinful  amusement,  but  opens  a  gateway  through 
which  life  may  become  a  procession  of  pure  enjoy- 
ments, until  it  swells  into  the  rapture  of  Heaven. 

CCXXXIII. 

The  law  of -Christianity  is  not  an  iron-clad  ascet- 
icism. God  never  made  a  man  to  be  a  monk,  or 
this  bright  world  to  be  a  monastery.  If  life  has 
its  times  to  weep,  so  hath  it  times  to  laugh.  Our 
blessed  Lord  more  than  once  shed  tears  ;  but  may 
he  not  have  often  smiled,  or  even  indulged  in  the 
good  old  Christian  liberty  of  laughter  ?  Holiness 
signifies  wholeness,  wealth,  health ;  and  health 
breeds  innocent  mirth.  If  mirth  may  be  innocent, 


184  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

recreation  is  not  only  innocent,  it  is  indispensable. 
Martin  Luther  relieves  his  stern  polemics  with  the 
Pope  by  cheerful  songs  at  the  fireside  and  by 
decorating  Christmas-trees  for  the  children ;  old 
Lyman  Beecher  lets  off  the  steam  after  an  even- 
ing's work  at  revival  preaching,  by  capering  to  the 
music  of  his  violin  until  his  prudent  spouse  protests 
against  his  salutary  exercise,  lest  he  wear  out  his 
home-knit  stockings.  Gladstone,  the  king  of  living 
statesmen,  recreates  with  his  axe  ;  Spurgeon,  the 
king  of  living  preachers,  recreates  with  his  game  of 
bowls  ;  the  saintly  McCheyne  of  Scotland,  with 
his  gymnastics,  poles  and  bars.  All  these  were 
men,  not  angels.  God  has  ordained  that  man  should 
play  as  well  as  labor,  The  friction  of  the  care  and 
toil  requires  this  lubrication.  Childhood  is  a  type 
of  wholesome  piety,  both  from  its  fund  of  faith,  and 
its  fund  of  eminent  playfulness.  It  is  a  true  say- 
ing that  no  creature  lives  which  must  not  work, 
and  may  not  play.  What  is  recreation  ?  We 
reply :  Everything  that  re-creates  what  is  lost  by 
daily  life's  friction  and  fatigue.  Whatever  makes 
the  body  healthier,  the  mind  clearer  and  the  im- 
mortal powers  more  vigorous,  is  Christian  recrea- 
tion. To  deny  ourselves  such  wholesome  reanima- 
tion  may  be  to  hazard  our  folly  ;  but  to  restrain 
others  from  them  is  an  infringement  upon  Christian 
liberty.  The  rights  of  Christian  conscience  are 
sacred  here  as  elsewhere  ;  but  conscience  requires 
solid  principles  of  truth  for  its  guidance. 


SIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  185 

CCXXXIV. 

We  lay  down,  then,  this  principle  :  That  what- 
soever tends  to  improve  the  body  and  mind  is 
right ;  whatever  endangers  the  moral  health  and 
inflames  the  evil  passions  is  wrong.  The  one 
strengthens ;  the  other  only  stimulates  and  often 
poisons.  The  one  refreshes ;  the  other  ruins. 
.  .  .  .  Does  the  amusement  recreate  the  body 
and  mind,  or  does  it  minister  to  the  evil  passions  ? 
If  it  recruits  my  physical  and  moral  nature,  it 
is  right.  But  if  it  stimulates  any  fleshly  lust,  if 
it  weakens  conscience,  if  it  unfits  me  for  the 
service  of  my  God,  and  defaces  my  spiritual 
nature,  then  is  it  a  forbidden  amusement.  I  can- 
not take  my  Master  with  me  into  it,  or  ask  his 
blessing  upon  it.  Wherever  a  Christian  cannot 
take  his  Christ  with  him,  he  has  no  right  to  go. 

ccxxxv. 

No  question  has  a  better  right  to  the  ballot-box 
than  the  vital  question  of  legalizing*  a  traffic  which 
spawns  three  fourths  of  all  the  pauperism  and  the 
crime.  But  a  reliance  upon  civil  enactments  alone 
will  be  fatal.  The  most  effectual  way  to  prevent 
selling,  is  to  prevent  the  buying  of  strong  drink. 
Those  who  are  instructed  into  habits  of  teetotalism 
furnish  no  custom  to  the  dram  shop,  and  the  duty 
of  furnishing  such  instruction  devolves  upon  the 


180  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

pulpit,  the  Church,  the  Sabbath-school,  and  the 
public-school  —  as  well  as  upon  conscientious 
parents.  But  where  a  large  proportion  of  the  peo- 
ple demand  liquor  they  will  obtain  it,  even  in  de- 
fiance of  law.  Legal  suppressions  of  the  dram-shop 
and  moral  suasion  can.  never  be  divorced.  They  go 
hand  in  hand  ;  each  is  a  complement  of  the  other. 
We  need  a  revival  of  total  abstinence  preaching 
and  practice  as  the  indispensable  basis  for  both 
social  and  civil  reform.  The  attempt  to  suppress 
liquor  drinking  and  drunkenness  by  legal  enact- 
ment in  a  community  that  has  no  temperance 
conscience,  is  as  impotent  as  a  breakwater  of  straw 
built  on  ~  quicksand.  A  "teetotal"  rejection  of 
the  bottle  by  individuals  is  sure  death  to  both  the 
drinking  usages  and  the  dram-shop.  Men  are 
saved  or  ruined,  one  by  one.  There  is  no  royal 
road  to  the  salvation  of  society  "  by  regiments." 

CCXXXVI. 

The  only  honest  word  to  be  applied  to  drunken- 
ness is  not  misfortune,  or  disease,  or  infirmity ;  it 
is  voluntary  crime.  It  is  a  self-inflicted  blow  at  the 
very  seat  and  throne  of  manhood  ;  it  strikes  the 
brain  and  overthrows  the  reason,  and  demolishes 
for  the  time  that  moral  sense  which  lifts  man  above 
the  brute.  Alcohol  is  really  that  devil  which  has 
the  power  to  "cast  both  soul  and  body  into  hell." 
Other  evil  habits  may  impair  a  single  organ  or 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  187 

vitiate  a  singe  phase  of  character.  But  a  material 
poison  that  can  derange  the  most  vital  part  of  the 
body,  and  at  the  same  time  strike  through  and 
reach  the  mind,  and  the  immortal  soul  itself,  must 
be  the  masterpiece  of  destruction. 

Young  men  in  our  time  and  country  need  more 
frequent  and  solemn  warnings  against  the  bottle. 
It  can  deceive  even  "  God's  elect  "  if  they  tamper 
with  it.  The  brains  of  powerful  orators  or  of 
powerful  ministers  are  as  easily  raked  and  ruined 
by  the  chain-shot  of  alcohol  as  the  brain  of  the 
most  stupid  clown.  There  is  a  law  of  the  Creator 
against  alcoholic  drinks,  written  on  the  human  brain, 
which  is  older  than  any  prohibitory  statutes  of 
legislatures,  and  more  authoritative  than  any  utter- 
ances of  pulpits  or  of  synods.  Every  confirmation 
of  that  law  demands  a  hearing  and  a  heeding.  The 
dead  utter  their  warnings  as  well  as  the  living. 
"He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear!  " 

CCXXXVII. 

God's  Church  instead  of  abetting  the  drinking- 
usages,  must  aim  to  discourage  and  destroy  the 
drinking  usages,  or  else  be  itself  wounded  to  the 
heart.  Whatever  our  duty  be  as  citizens  in  law-mak- 
ing and  law-en  forcing,  ourprovince  as  Christians 
lies  in  the  direction  of  moral  and  religious  effort. 

The  stream  of  enforced  law  never  rises  higher 
than  the  fountain-head  of  public  sentiment. 


188  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCXXXVIII. 

This  delusion  of  "  moderation "  has  slain  not 
only  the  dwarfs,  but  the  giants.  It  has  left  its  awful 
blood-stain  in  the  Senate-chamber,  the  Parliament- 
house,  and  the  pulpit.  This  treacherous  quality 
inheres  in  the  very  nature  of  an  alcoholic  stimulant ; 
therefore  God's  Word  pronounces  it  a  "  mocker  " 
and  a  "deceiver."  The  excitable  temperaments  of 
our  American  people  and  our  peculiar  climate 
make  the  popular  drinks  now  in  vogue  especially 
dangerous.  But  if  our  moderation  is  to  be  known 
unto  all  men,  pray  let  us  know  just  what  is  moder- 
ation. Is  it  one  glass  ?  Or  two  ?  Or  five  ? 
There  are  good  people  who  make  fools  of  them- 
selves on  two  glasses,  while  others  can  carry  a  level 
head  under  five  glasses.  Is  everything  moderation 
which  is  inside  the  limit  of  drunkenness  ?  Surely 
not;  for  thousands  have  burned  up  their  vitals  with 
strong  wines  and  whiskey,  who  never  staggered  in 
their  lives. 

Moderation  is  an  elastic  word.  To  tell  our  ner- 
vously, excitable  young  Americans  that  they  may 
drink  our  popular  drinks,  if  they  are  careful  to  do 
so  in  moderation,  is  about  equivalent  to  telling 
them  that  they  may  venture  into  a  house  infected 
with  small-pox,  if  they  are  careful  to  come  out  with 
only  a  gentle  varioloid.  They  may  bathe  in  the 
rapids  of  Niagara,  but  they  must  be  sure  to  keep 
above  Goat  Island  bridge. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  189 

CCXXXIX. 

God  gave  Paul  the  grace  to  fight  down  his  lusts, 
but  God  never  took  physical  lusts  so  entirely  out 
of  Paul  that  he  had  nothing  left  to  fight.  Precisely 
so  does  God  impart  to  a  truly  converted  inebriate 
the  divine  strength  to  "keep  under"  a  depraved 
lust  for  alcohol.  This  is  the  "drunkard's  greatest 
hope;"  nay,  his  only  hope.  But  let  the  converted 
man  beware  how  he  falls  into  the  dangerous  delu- 
sion that  his  old  enemy  is  entirely  dead,  and  dead 
forever. 

Few  genuine  drunkards  are  ever  permanently 
reformed,  and  that  is  an  overwhelming  argument 
for  total  abstinence  from  the  start.  God  never 
intended  that  when  a  man  wantonly  throws  him- 
self into  the  rapids  he  should  have  an  easy  time  in 
swimming  ashore  from  the  cataract. 

CCXL. 

If  a  glass  of  wine  on  my  table  will  entrap  some 
young  man  or  some  one  who  is  inclined  to  stimu- 
lants into  dissipation,  then  am  I  thoughtlessly  set- 
ting a  trap  for  his  life.  I  am  his  tempter.  I  give 
the  usage  my  sanction,  and  to  him  the  direct 
inducement  to  partake  of  the  bottled  demon  that 
sparkles  so  seductively  before  him.  If  the  con- 
tents of  that  sparkling  glass  make  my  brother  to 
stumble,  he  stumbles  over  me.  If  he  goes  away 


190  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

from  my  table  and  commits  some  outrage  under 
the  effects  of  that  stimulant,  I  am  to  a  certain 
degree  guilty  of  that  outrage.  I  have  a  partner- 
ship in  every  blow  he  strikes,  or  in  every  oath  he 
may  utter,  or  in  every  bitter  wound  he  may  inflict 
on  the  hearts  of  those  he  loves  while  under  the 
spell  of  my  glass  of  "  Cognac,"  or  "Burgundy."  I 
gave  him  the  incentive  to  do  what  otherwise  he 
might  have  left  undone.  The  man  who  puts  the 
bottle  to  his  neighbor's  lips  is  accountable  for 
what  comes  from  those  lips  under  the  influence  of 
the  dram,  and  is  accountable,  too,  for  every  outrage 
that  the  maddened  victim  of  the  cup  may  perpe- 
trate during  his  temporary  insanity.  In  this  view 
of  the  question,  is  it  too  much  to  ask  of  every  pro- 
fessed Christian,  and  every  lover  of  his  kind,  that 
they  will  wholly  abstain  from  everything  that  will 
intoxicate?  For  the  sake  of  your  children,  do  it. 
For  the  sake  of  a  brother,  a  husband,  a  friend ; 
for  the  sake  of  those  who  will  plead  your  example ; 
for  the  sake  of  frail  tempted  ones  who  cannot  say 
No  !  for  your  fellow-traveller's  sake  to  God's  bar 
and  to  the  eternal  world,  touch  not  the  bottled 
devil,  under  whose  shining  scales  damnation  hides 
its  adder-sting  ! 

CCXLI. 

The  Bible  closes  the  "  kingdom  of  God  "  against 
the  drunkard.     The  Bible  declares  that  wine  is  a 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  191 

mocker,  and  warns  us  against  its  adder-bite  and 
serpent-sting.  The  Bible  proclaims  that  noble 
Christian  principle  of  self-denial,  "  It  is  good  not 
to  drink  wine  or  anything  by  which  thy  brother 
stumbleth."  One  of  these  passages  teaches  the 
terrible  danger  of  tampering  with  what  is  by  its 
very  nature  a  subtle  deceiver.  Another  pronounces 
the  awful  doom  of  those  who  are  enslaved  by  the 
deceiver ;  and  the  third  unfolds  a  most  sensible 
and  beautiful  principle  on  which  all  who  have  any 
regard  for  their  fellow  creatures  should  be  willing 
to  stand  in  solid  phalanx.  "Why  don't  you  take 
wine  ?  "  inquired  a  certain  bishop  of  a  neighbor  to 
whom  he  pushed  a  decanter  at  a  public  table. 
The  reproving  reply  was,  "  I  do  not  for  the  sake  of 
my  example." 

The  one  momentous  truth  that  must  be  instilled 
into  the  minds  and  consciences  of  the  young,  is 
that  nobody  can  safely  tamper  with  an  intoxicating 
beverage.  On  the  bed-rock  of  entire  abstinence 
alone  are  they  safe. 

CCXLII. 

All  genuine  acts  of  philanthropy  are  born  of  the 
noble  principle  to  deny  self,  and  to  honor  Christ  in 
the  persons  of  those  for  whom  Christ  suffered.  .  . 
There  is  a  kind  of  benevolence  which  aims  to 
commute  with  God  by  the  mere  payment  of  money. 
It  is  not  so  cruel  as  to  leave  the  widow  and 


192  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

the  orphan,  who  are  the  apostles'  types  of  the  needy 
and  dependent  classes,  to  starve.  Therefore  it 
contributes  to  found  asylums,  and  to  establish 
orphanages;  but  the  personal  sympathy — which  is 
more  to  the  suffering  often  than  silver  or  gold  — 
it  is  too  indolent  or  too  selfish  to  bestow.  Christ 
exemplified  the  power  of  personal  sympathy  when 
he  went  to  lodge  with  the  social  outcast,  Zaccheus  ; 
when  he  dined  with  Simon  the  leper,  and  when  he 
led  the  poor  blind  man  out  of  the  town.  Christ 
tuught  the  secret  of  all  successful  charity,  yes,  and 
of  all  successful  effort  to  win  sinners  to  the  gospel 
of  salvation.  It  is  by  personal  sympathy. 

The  only  way  to  bring  suffering  and  sinning 
human  nature  to  God  is  by  personal  effort,  and 
personal  effort  must  be  born  of  personal  sympathy. 

CCXLIII. 

As  God  notches  the  centuries,  the  chief  glory 
of  this  nineteenth  one  is  not  that  it  has  produced 
steam-engines  and  telegraphs  and  telephones  and 
other  mechanical  marvels,  but  that  it  is  the  cen- 
tury of  Foreign  Missions. 

CCXLIV. 

This  morning  I  found  my  way  to  the  Mission 
Park  (near  Williams  College)  the  sacred  spot  on 
which  Christ's  inspiring  words,  "  go  teach  all  na- 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  193 

,  tions,"  came  with  new  power  into  the  souls  of 
Samuel  J.  Mills  and  his  praying  band.  I  went 
down  there  alone  soon  after  sunrise.  .Old  Grey- 
lock  was  just  kindling  with  the  earliest  rays.  All 
the  mountains  round  about  were  as  silent  as  before 
the  winds  were  made.  The  dew  was  yet  sparkling 
on  the  grass  in  the  open  grove  to  which  the  dis- 
ciples of  that  memorable  year  of  1806  "  oftentimes 
resorted  "  for  prayer.  Part  of  that  grove  is  still 
standing,  and  just  above  it,  within  a  circular  walk, 
stands  the  Monument,  as  pure  and  stainless  as  the 
faith  which  has  consecrated  this  holy  spot.  When  I 
first  saw  the  monument  and  read  the  brief,  touch- 
ing inscription,  I  could  not  keep  back  the  tears. 
It  is  not  a  memorial,  like  other  marbles,  of  a 
death,  but  of  a  glorious  birth.  Here  was  born,  in 
the  pangs  of  prayer,  a  mighty  purpose  to  make 
the  living  sacrifice  for  a  perishing  world. 

The  monument  contains  only  the  simple  inscrip- 
tion— "The  Birthplace  of  American  Missions,"  and 
that  other  watchword,  "The  field  is  the  world;" 
and  then  five  modest  names  of  men  who  never 
dreamed  that  they  were  making  themselves  immor- 
tal. I  read  them  over :  Samuel  J.  Mills,  James 
Richards,  F.  L.  Robbins,  Henry  Loomis,  Byram 
Green.  I  tried  to  imagine  the  humble,  coarsely- 
clad  students,  after  their  homely,  austere  meal, 
coming  down  here  from  the  most  rustic  of  Ameri- 
can colleges  (as  it  then  was),  and  with  Greylock 
looking  down  upon  them  like  a  second  Olivet  — 


194  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

kneeling  here  for  prayer.  I  seemed  to  hear 
Mills's  voice  yearning  forth,  "  Lord,  here  are  we  ; 
send  us."  I  catch  the  deep  amen  with  which  the 
other  four  voices  chimed  in  at  the  close  of  the 
petition.  I  can  imagine  the  sweet  disentangled 
pilgrim  spirit  with  which  they  went  back  to  their 
studies.  Henceforth  they  were  consecrated  to 
God.  The  mountains  around  were  their  wit- 
nesses. They  had  "  no  more  place  in  these  parts," 
and  their  eyes  looked  beyond  the  seas  for  their 
field  of  blessed  toil.  I  wish  every  American  stu- 
dent could  come  and  see  this  holy  spot;  such  a 
pilgrimage  might  shame  down  selfishness  and 
recruit  the  ranks  of  American  torch-bearers  to  the 
lands  yet  lying  in  the  midnight  of  heathenism. 

CCXLV. 

The  Luthers  and  Wesleys  who  have  pioneered 
great  reformations,  the  missionaries  of  Christ  who 
have  invaded  the  kingdoms  of  paganism,  have  had 
to  endure  night-watching  and  sleepless  work  be- 
fore God  opens  to  them  the  gates  of  the  morning. 

CCXLVI. 

Many  Christians  are  so  wrapped  up  in  one  or 
two  favorite  schemes  of  benevolence,  which  become 
their  "  hobbies,"  that  they  have  no  time  or  thought 
for  cases  of  suffering  close  by  them. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  195 

CCXLVIL 

God's  government  is  the  solidest  ground  of  my 
confidence  and  joy.  It  underlies  all  my  theology, 
and  is  the  very  rock-bed  on  which  I  rest  my  salva- 
tion. If  his  irrevocable  laws  push  me  back  and 
hedge  me  in  from  sin,  then  all  the  better.  If  his 
sharp  knife  prunes  me,  then  I  am  only  the  more 
sure  that  he  loveth  me.  Afflictions  are  like  the 
cactus  plant  of  his  making  —  very  unsightly  and 
full  of  thorns  ;  but  they  bear  marvellous  flowers  in 
their  time. 

CCXLVIII. 

God  not  only  reigns,  but  he  governs  his  world 
by  a  most  beautiful  law  of  compensations.  He 
setteth  one  thing  over  against  another.  Faith 
loves  to  study  the  illustrations  of  this  law,  notes 
them  in  her  diary,  and  rears  her  pillars  of  praise 
for  every  fresh  discovery. 

One  of  the  sweetest  enjoyments  of  Heaven  will 
be  to  review  our  own  experiences  under  this  law 
of  compensations,  and  to  see  how  often  affliction 
worked  out  for  us  the  exceeding  weight  of  glory. 

CCXLIX. 

One  of  the  excellencies  of  God's  government  is 
that  he  never  alters  his  laws  to  meet  special  cases. 


196  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

They  are  unchangeable.  If  we  break  God's  com- 
mandments we  must  pay  the  penalty. 

All  along  the  seductive  pathways  of  self-indul- 
gence God  places  his  toll-gates  of  retribution. 

Nothing  hurts  us  like  the  hurts  we  give  to  our 
conscience. 

CCL. 

Some  people  imagine  that  Sinai  is  extinct.  Cer- 
tain pulpits  seem  to  be  pitched  so  far  away  from 
the  sublime  mountain,  that  its  august  peak  is  no 
longer  visible,  and  its  righteous  thunders  against 
sin  are  no  longer  audible.  With  this  of  rose-water 
ministers,  the  theology  of  law  is  voted  obsolete 
and  barbarous ;  the  world  is  to  be  tamed  and 
sanctified  entirely  by  a  theology  of  love.  .They 
preach  a  one-sided  God  —  all  mercy  and  no  justice 
—  with  one  half  of  his  glorious  attributes  put 
under  eclipse.  Even  sinners  are  not  to  be  warned, 
with  tears  and  entreaties,  to  flee  from  the  wrath  to 
come.  They  are  to  be  coaxed  into  holiness  by  a 
magical  process  which  makes  nothing  of  repent- 
ance, and  simply  requires  a  "  faith  "  which  costs 
no  more  labor  than  the  snap  of  a  finger.  This 
shallow  system  may  produce  long  rolls  of  "con- 
verts," but  it  does  not  produce  solid,  sub-soiled 
Christians.  Sinai  is  not  an  extinct  mountain  in 
Bible  theology.  Not  one  jot  of  its  holy  law  has 
been  lowered  or  repealed.  In  one  very  vital  sense, 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  197 

no  Christian  is  "free  from  the  law."  It  would  not 
be  a  "happy  condition  "  for  him  if  he  were  so,  any 
more  than  it  would  be  a  happy  condition  for  New 
York  or  Chicago  to  disband  their  police,  and  to 
let  loose  their  criminals  into  the  streets.  So  far 
from  being  a  kindness,  it  would  be  eventual  cruelty 
to  any  man,  or  any  community,  to  place  them  beyond 
the  reach  and  the  just  penalties  of  divine  law. 
This  is  especially  an  unfortunate  time  in  which  to 
preach  a  limber-backed  theology  which  has  no 
stiffening  of  the  word  "  ortght "  in  its  fibre,  and 
which  seldom  disturbs  men's  consciences  with 
the  retributions  of  sin.  Society  will  not  be  re- 
generated with  cologne- water.  We  need  more  of 
the  sacred  authority  of  law  in  our  homes,  more 
enforcement  of  law  in  the  commonwealth,  more 
reverence  for  God's  law  in  our  hearts,  more  law 
preaching  in  our  pulpits,  and  more  "  law  work " 
in  the  conversion  of  souls  which  are  to  represent 
Christ  by  keeping  his  commandments. 

CCLI. 

Those  of  us  who  accept  the  unpopular  doctrine 
that  the  banishment  of  the  wicked  from  Heaven 
will  be  endless,  are  compelled  to  this  opinion  by 
the  clear  revelations  of  God's  Word.  We  have 
not  invented  the  doctrine.  We  do  not  preach  it 
because  it  is  popular.  As  Paul  declared  the  gospel 
of  Calvary  to  be  "a  stumbling-block  to  the  Jew 


198  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

and  foolishness  to  the  Greek,"  so  we  are  willing  to 
acknowledge  that  eternal  punishment  is  neither 
pleasant  nor  palatable  to  the  majority  of  mankind. 
With  the  justice  or  the  mercy  involved,  we  have 
nothing  to  do.  God  is  abundantly  able  to  vindi- 
cate his  own  dealings  with  his  creatures ;  he  asks 
no  apologies  from  us.  All  that  we,  who  are 
teachers  of  the  inspired  Word,  need  to  ascertain, 
is,  "  What  saith  the  Lord  ? "  Whatever  the  Lord 
has  declared,  we  are  bound  to  preach.  There  our 
responsibility  ends. 

CCLII. 

There  is  only  one  cloud  in  the  universe  which 
never  knows  any  lining  of  light,  and  that  is  the 
cloud  of  Divine  wrath  against  sin.  No  rainbow 
ever  gilds  it ;  no  smile  of  God  ever  plays  upon  its 
terrible  blackness.  It  is  like  unto*  that  pitchy 
"smoke  of  torment"  which  John  saw  rolling  up 
forever  from  the  pit.  Let  the  very  thought  of  it 
send  us  to  Christ,  as  to  a  covert  from  the  tem- 
pest. 

CCLIII. 

N^Vhat  doesh  e  Bible  mean  by  "loss  of  the 
soul  ? "  Does  it  mean  an  utter  annihilation  ?  I 
find  no  such  idea  expressed  on  any  page  of  Holy 
Writ.  But  I  do  discover  that  it  is  lost  to  God's 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  199 

word  when  it  is  given  up  to  selfishness ;  it  is  lost  to 
holiness  when  it  is  "sold  under  sin;"  it  is  lost  to 
happiness  when  it  is  without  hope.  If  I  see  the 
wreck  of  a  gallant  vessel  on  a  beach,  I  say  at  once 
"  This  ship  is  lost."  The  broken  fragments  of  the 
timbers  and  the  tangled  mass  of  spars  and  cordage 
may  strew  the  strand.  They  are  not  annihilated  ; 
yet  the  ship  is  lost.  For  the  purposes  which  that 
vessel  was  built,  for  all  beauty  and  usefulness,  it  is 
ruined.  So,  if  any  soul  be  perverted  from  God's 
service,  from  faith  in  Christ,  from  usefulness,  from 
purity,  and  from  hope  of  Heaven,  it  is  a  ruined 
soul.  To  continue  in  this  condition  through  eter- 
nity would  be  an  eternal  "death." 

CCLIV. 

It  is  a  tremendous  truth,  though  constantly  for- 
gotten, that  this  vapor  of  human  life  never  appears 
and  disappears  but  once.  "  It  is  appointed  unto 
man  once  to  die."  This  we  all  admit  ;  but  do  we 
as  fully  realize  that  it  is  appointed  unto  us  only 
once  to  live  ?  If  we  could  come  back  hither  from 
the  unseen  world,  and  try  our  probation  over  again, 
how  differently  would  we  use  the  golden  hours. 

How  busily  that  now  indolent  Christian  would 
work  I  How  faithfully  we  pastors  would  preach 
righteousness  and  the  judgment  to  come !  How 
eagerly  that  rich  man  would  devote  his  money  to 
the  Lord's  service !  .  With  what  quick  haste  would 


200  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

that  impenitent  soul  snatch  the  offered  gift  of  sal- 
vation !  Oh  !  how  differently  would  we  all  live,  if 
the  light  of  an  actual  visit  into  the  eternal  world 
were  shining  on  a  second  probation  ! 

But  even  as  the  leaves  now  lying  under  yonder 
cherry-tree  will  never  touch  those  branches  again 
or  be  kissed  by  another  summer's  sun,  so  my  life 
and  your  life,  kind  reader,  will  never  have  another 
moment  of  probation  beyond  the  tomb.  Verily  it 
is  now  or  never  with  us.  It  is  either  a  life  for 
Christ  here,  or  an  undying  death  without  him 
in  the  world  to  come  !  Which  shall  it  be  ?  Shall 
this  fleeting  vapor  of  existence  glow  like  a  rainbow, 
with  God's  smiles  of  approval,  or  shall  it  darken 
into  a  cloud  of  wrath  and  blackness  under  his 
just  frown? 

CCLV. 

A  delusion  which  rocks  thousands  into  a  perilous 
slumber,  is  that  they  will  yet  have  abundant  chances 
to  secure  Heaven.  "I  need  be  in  no  hurry;  time 
enough  yet."  This  is  the  will-o'-the-wisp  which  is 
leading  multitudes  on  farther  and  deeper  into  the 
morass  of  impenitence.  Not  only  in  this  world 
will  there  be  chances  for  repentance  and  securing 
Heaven,  but  even  beyond  the  grave  God's  mercy  will 
give  them  another  opportunity.  This  delusion  is  in 
the  air  to  a  degree  never  known  before.  Ministers 
and  writers  of  the  Dorner  school  help  to  extend  it, 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  201 

and  the  procrastinating  heart  of  man  eagerly 
snatches  at  the  spider's  web.  It  is  a  plausible 
idea,  and  as  long  as  it  lulls  conscience  and  gratifies 
the  natural  heart,  so  long  it  will  be  popular.  God's 
Word,  indeed,  gives  not  even  a  hint  of  a  second 
probation  to  those  who  have  rejected  the  Saviour 
in  this  life.  Our  loving  Lord  himself  was  the  very 
one  who  has  most  repeatedly  and  solemnly  preached 
the  doctrine  of  endless  retribution  and  the  hopeless- 
ness of  repentance  beyond  the  grave.  It  was 
from  his  merciful,  lovi-ng  lips  that  there  fell  such 
tremendous  utterances  as  "  A  great  gulf  fixed;  " 
and  "  These  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punish- 
ment ; "  and  "  The  worm  dieth  not  and  the  flame 
is  not  quenched."  The  whole  trend  of  the  New 
Testament  is  overwhelmingly  in  this  same  direc- 
tion. The  mighty  bell  which  God  rings  over  our 
heads  sounds  out  only  the  single  note  "Now" 
is  the  day  of  salvation  ;  but  against  God's  impera- 
tive "  Nozv  "  thousands  close  their  ears  and  allow 
the  devil  to  whisper  into  them  his  delusive 
"  to-morrow." 

The  very  people  who  would  scorn  the  name  of 
"infidel"  are  those  who  will  eagerly  fasten  to  a 
delusion  which  has  not  a  shadow  of  warrant  in 
the  Scriptures.  Well  might  Doctor  Finney  say 
that  the  Bible  fares  badly  in  human  hands,  for 
Christians  throw  away  too  many  of  its  promises, 
and  sinners  throw  away  all  its  threatenings  ;  and 
but  little  is  left  of  it. 


202  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCLVI. 

Procrastination  peoples  hell.  Some  persons 
have  a  vague  hope  of  another  time  of  probation 
beyond  the  grave,  or  else  that  temporary  punish- 
ment may  prepare  them  for  bridging  the  great 
gulf  and  getting  into  Heaven.  Both  these  arc 
Satan's  lies,  without  a  shadow  of  warrant  from  the 
Bible.  Now  or  never  is  the  steady,  persistent  ap- 
peal of  the  Gospel ;  death  comes  soon,  may  come 
at  any  moment,  and  death  ends  probation.  When 
Christ  is  knocking  at  your  heart's  door,  is  the  time 
to  admit  him  ;  he  may  soon  give  his  last  knock. 

CCLVII. 

When  Apelles,  the  Greek  painter,  was  asked 
why  he  bestowed  so  much  labor  upon  his  pictures, 
he  replied,  "Because  I  am  painting  for  eternity." 
He  used  the  word  as  a  bold  figure  of  speech  ;  but 
we  may  use  the  word  literally  when  we  say  that 
we  are  painting  the  picture  of  our  lives  for  eternity. 
We  use  fast  colors.  Whatever  pure  and  holy  word 
or  deed  be  wrought  into  that  picture,  will  stand 
there,  imperishable  and  immortal.  Whatever  sel- 
fish or  sinful  thing  be  painted  on  that  life-canvas 
can  never  be  washed  out  except  by  the  application 
of  the  blood  of  Jesus  here  in  this  present  life. 
Now  or  never  that  precious  blood  availeth.  When 
death  comes,  the  process  of  painting  stops  !  No 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  203 

strokes  of  penitence  or  of  faith  can  be  added  to  it 
then.  No  guilty  spots  can  be  washed  out  then. 
The  painting  is  finished,  and  it  is  finished  for- 
ever! 

Death  frames  the  picture,  and  sends  it  on  to  the 
Judgment-day  for  exhibition.  Not  "a  private  view" 
before  a  select  company,  but  a  public  exhibition 
before  an  assembled  multitude  whom  no  man  can 
number. 

For  God  will  bring  every  word  and  every  work 
into  judgment,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether 
it  be  evil.  The  picture  of  our  lives  which  is  pre- 
sented before  the  "  great  white  throne "  will  be 
forever  unchangeable.  If  the  canvas  is  adorned 
with  deeds,  however  humble,  for  the  glory  of  God, 
then  the  life-work  will  stand  as  an  everlasting 
memorial  of  divine  grace.  If  life  was  only  spent 
for  the  gratification  of  sinful  self,  then  the  wretched 
picture  of  it  will  only  be  held  up  to  "  shame  and 
everlasting  contempt." 

We  may  desire  most  intensely  to  alter  the  por- 
traiture then,  and  to  improve  it,  but  the  pencil  and 
the  colors  were  left  behind  us ;  the  hand  will  have 
lost  its  cunning  forevermore.  We  may  importu- 
nately beg  and  beseech  the  righteous  Judge  to  give 
us  one  more  opportunity.  The  irreversible  answer 
will  be,  ''He  that  is  unjust,  let  him  be  unjust  still; 
he  that  is  filthy,  let  him  be  filthy  still.  He  that  is 
righteous,  let  him  be  righteous  still;  he  that  is  holy, 
let  him  be  holy  still." 


204  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCLVIII. 

Jesus  has  revealed  the  pathway  to  Heaven,  and 
poured  upon  that  straight  and  narrow  road  the 
noontide  of  guidance  and  bright  encouragement. 
Take  out  of  this  sin-cursed  world  to-day  the  light 
which  has  beamed  into  it  from  that  plain,  perse- 
cuted man  of  Nazareth,  and  all  its  multitudinous 
peoples  would  be  shrouded  in  a  spiritual  midnight. 

CCLIX. 

Christ  does  not  offer  to  be  simply  an  occasional 
shower  of  blessings  to  the  faithful  believer.  He 
promises  to  be  a  living  well.  "The  water  that  I 
give  him  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of  water  springing 
up  into  everlasting  life."  The  deepest  and  the 
most  urgent  wants  of  the  heart  he  promises  to 
satisfy. 

CCLX. 

As  the  watch-maker  is  familiar  with  every  wheel 
and  pivot  in  the  watch  he  has  made,  so  the  Divine 
Jesus  knows  his  own  workmanship.  This  is  the 
infinite  advantage  which  Christianity  has  over 
every  other  system.  It  submits  the  human  soul  to 
the  Maker  as  well  as  to  the  Redeemer  of  that  soul. 

It  is  half  the  battle  in  family  government  for 
the  parent  to  understand  thoroughly  his  child. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  205 

One  boy  can  be  held  by  a  cotton  thread  ;    another 
one  will  break  an  ox-chain.      But  Jesus,  the  divine 
teacher,  when  he  takes  an  immortal  soul  under  his 
care,  and  into  his  training  school,  understands  his 
pupils  perfectly.      He  'reads    Mary   through   and 
through  when  she  sits  at  his  feet,  and  cheers  her 
life  by  the  assurance  that  the  "  better  portion"  is 
hers.     In  his  raw  experience  Peter  may  brag  of  his 
loyalty  loudly;    but  the  Master  takes  him  down  by 
the  startling  announcement,  "  before  the  cock  crows 
thou  shalt  deny  me  three  times  over."     Jesus  de- 
tects the  splendid  capacities  in  Paul  for  the  very 
foremost  apostleship  ;    but  he  also  has  a  place  for 
humble  Tryphena  and  Tryphosa,  and  even  a  use 
for  Dorcas's  needle.      He  knows  just  what  is  in 
every  one  of  us.     This  makes  him  not  a  hard  mas- 
ter, but  the  most  kind  and  considerate  of  employers 
and  guardians.      He  never  lays  on  weak  shoulders 
the  loads  which  only  stronger  ones  can  carry.     All 
the  while  too,  sweetly  come  the  encouraging  words  : 
"  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee.     I  call  you  not  my 
servant ;   I  call  you  my  friend" 

CCLXI. 

Christ  never  drives  his  flock  when  a  new  field  of 
pasturage  is  to  be  sought,  or  even  when  he  dis- 
covers them  on  forbidden  ground.  When  he 
"putteth  forth  his  own  sheep  he  .goeth  before 
them,"  and  draws  them  with  the  arguments  of  love. 


206  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

What  a  tenderness  of  personal  attachment  there 
is  in  that  phrase,  "  He  calleth  his  own  sheep  by 
name!"  What  an  intimacy  it  bespeaks!  Every 
disciple,  high  or  humble,  is  better  known  by  Jesus 
than  any  child  by  its  own  mother.  All  our  pecu- 
liar weaknesses,  all  our  wants,  and  griefs,  and 
backslidings,  as  well  as  our  peculiar  capabilities  for 
his  service,  are  perfectly  plain  to  him. 

The  valley  of  death  is  no  new  place  to  him  ;  for 
he  has  not  only  trod  it  himself,  he  has  led  myriads 
of  his  redeemed  ones  through  it. 

On  the  resurrection  morn,  we  shall  find  that 
Jesus  the  Shepherd  has  come  out  of  the  tomb 
before  us,  the  "  first  fruits  of  them  that  sleep." 
Even  into  Heaven  he  enters  as  "  Our  Forerunner," 
And  so  all  through  the  believer's  experience  his 
loving  Leader  is  seen  going  on  before ;  and  the 
whole  duty  of  a  godly  life  is  summed  up  in  that 
single  word  — following  Jesus. 

CCLXII. 

Before  our  blessed  Lord  went  out  to  his  dying 
agony  on  the  cross,  he  made  his  will.  He  had 
not  a  shekel  of  silver  to  bequeath,  or  a  denarius  in 
the  pocket  of  his  coarse  robes.  A  poorer  man 
there  was  not  that  night  in  all  Jerusalem.  Yet  he 
makes  a  bequest  that  outweighs  all  that  the 
markets  of  the  world  can  offer  —  a  richer  legacy 
than  Caesar  leaves  to  imperial  heirs.  "  Peace  I 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  207 

leave  with  you."  Such  peace  as  He  had  possessed 
amid  innumerable  persecutions  and  bufferings, 
amid  poverty  and  obloquy,  and  such  as  filled  his 
divine  soul  in  view  of  Gethsemane  and  Calvary. 
" My  peace  I  give  unto  you."  A  gift  is  all  the 
dearer  because  it  has  belonged  to  our  dearest 
friend,  and  is  linked  with  him  or  her  in  our  memory 
forever.  Our  Lord's  gift  is  of  his  own  "peace," 
which  had  dwelt  in  his  own  divine  breast,  and  is 
poured  out  into  the  hearts  which  open  to  him.  It 
is  a  peace  which  passeth  all  understanding;  it 
keeps  the  heart  from  distressing  commotions,  from 
racking  doubts,  and  from  uneasy  apprehensions  of 
the  judgment  to  come.  This  is  genuine  happiness. 
This  heals  the  sore  spot,  and  cures  the  heart- 
aches. 

In  the  midst  of  the  noisy  world's  clamors,  crying 
off  its  miserable  frauds,  there  stands  one  majestic 
personage  who  with  a  divine  calmness  utters  the 
deep  loving  offer,  "  My  peace  I  give  unto  you  ; 
not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto  you." 
Christ's  method  is  the  opposite  of  the  world's  and 
of  the  father  of  lies.  Christ  gives  peace  by  heal- 
ing the  diseases  of  the  soul.  Instead  of  the 
wretched  device  of  attempting  to  satisfy  restless 
and  unholy  cravings,  he  expels  them  and  brings 
in  the  new  sources  of  joy.  -The  world's  false  peace 
begins  in  delusion,  goes  on  in  sin,  and  ends  in 
perdition.  Christ's  peace  begins  in  pardoning 
grace,  goes  on  in  quiet  trust,  and  ends  in  glory. 


208  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

"  My  peace "  in  this  world  will  be  the  prelude 
to  "my  glory"  in  the  next  world.  Open  your 
soul  to  the  inflowing  river,  while  you  gladly  sing  — 

Thy  reign  is  perfect  peace, 

Not  mine,  but  Thine  ; 
A  stream  that  cannot  cease, 

For  its  fountain  is  divine. 
Oh,  depths  unknown  ! 

Thou  givest  of  Thine  own 
Pouring  from  Thine,  and  filling  mine. 

CCLXIII. 

Jesus  has  many  disguises,  but  love  can  discover 
him  beneath  the  disguise.  The  two  disciples 
found  him  out  at  Emmaus,  because  they  welcomed 
him  in  and  besought  him  to  "abide  with  them." 
Christ  sometimes  conceals  himself  behind  some 
poor  disciple's  coarse  clothes,  or  behind  the  couch 
of  some  sick  sufferer,  or  up  in  the  garret  of  some 
old  bed-ridden  saint.  And  when  we  go  there  on  a 
visit  of  love,  pretty  soon  we  find  that  Jesus  is  there, 
and  we  hear  him  say,  "  Inasmuch  as  ye  do  this 
unto  one  of  the  least  of  My  brethren,  ye  do  it 
unto  Me."  If  we  went  oftener  on  such  errands  of 
charity,  we  should  oftener  be  able  to  exclaim,  "  It 
is  the  Lord !  Not  long  hence  the  voyage  over 
life's  dim,  unsounded  sea  will  end.  As  we  draw 
near  to  the  shore  of  the  Better  Country,  let  us  be 
on  the  lookout  for  the  waiting  Saviour  on  the 
strand.  As  eternity  begins  to  dawn,  and  the 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  209 

shadows  disappear,  what  a  joyful  recognition  will  it 
be  to  hear  Him  say,  "  Come,  ye  blessed,  unto  Me ! " 
and  love  shall  exultingly  answer,  "  It  is  my  Lord  !  " 

CCLXIV. 

It  is  said  that  artesian  wells  never  get  dry;  but 
when  the  torrid  heats  of  July  are  parching  the 
upper  surface  into  drifts  of  dust,  there  is  an 
unexhausted  vein  far  down  below  that  gushes  up 
through  its  rocky  tube,  and  defies  the  thirsty  sun- 
beams to  quench  its  perennial  flow.  So  does 
Christ  within  us  break  up  through  our  dusty,  selfish 
humanity,  and  overflow  our  nature  with  graces,  un- 
til even  the  desert-spot  becomes  a  garden  of  the 
Lord. 

CCLXV. 

Take  the  doctrine  of  gravitation  out  of  Sir  Isaac 
Newton's  natural  philosphy,  and  the  system  falls 
into  rubbish.  Take  the  divinity  of  Jesus  Christ 
out  of  the  New  Testament  and  out  of  the  plan  of 
redemption,  and  they  become  a  delusion  and  a 
mockery. 

CCLXVI. 

Let  us  gather  in  one  bouquet  from  the  King's 
garden  these  seven  fragrant  flowers  :  Jesus  the 


210  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Son  of  God  ;  Jesus  our  sin-bearer  ;  Jesus  the  giver 
of  eternal  life  ;  Jesus  the  hearer  of  our  prayers  ; 
Jesus  the  chastener  who  can  turn  crosses  into 
crowns ;  and  Jesus  the  wonder-worker,  who  can 
change  us  into  eternal  likeness  unto  himself. 
These  flowers  will  keep  sweet  till  Heaven  dawns. 

CCLXVII. 

Jesus  is  the  bringer  of  spiritual  spring  into  the 
soul.  When  he  comes,  the  time  of  the  singing 
of  birds  comes  with  him.  He  is  the  Son  of  Right- 
eousness who  turns  January  into  May.  Really, 
my  dear  brethren,  we  ought  each  to  understand 
that  God  allows  every  child  of  his  to  make  his  own 
almanac. 

We  can  have  warm  weather,  flowers,  fruits  and 
bird-songs  all  the  year  through,  if  we  only  live  in 
the  rays  of  Christ's  countenance.  The  sorest  sor- 
rows of  life  are  of  our  own  making.  We  shut  out 
God's  larks  from  our  hearts,  and  bring  in  the  bats 
and  hooting  owls  of  miserable  unbelief.  These 
birds  of  evil  omen  disappear  when  the  dayspring 
from  on  high  visits  our  souls. 

God  offers  to  fill  our  homes  and  our  hearts  with 
joy  and  gladness  if  we  will  only  let  him  do  it.  We 
cannot  create  the  canary-birds ;  but  we  can  provide 
cages  for  them,  and  fill  our  dwellings  with  their 
music.  Even  so  we  cannot  create  the  heavenly 
gifts  which  Jesus  offers ;  but  they  are  ours  if  we 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  211 

provide  heart-room  for  them.  The  birds  of  peace, 
and  contentment,  and  joy,  and  praise  will  fly  in  fast 
enough  if  we  only  invite  Jesus  Christ,  and  set  the 
windows  of  our  souls  open  for  his  coming. 

CCLXVIII. 

Sympathy  cannot  bring  back  the  departed  treas- 
ure, it  cannot  "lift  the  napkin"  from  the  face  of 
the  dead ;  but  it  does  help  wonderfully  to  lift  a 
great  load  of  sorrow. 

Never  have  I  felt  before,  as  now,  what  an  unpar- 
donable mistake  we  ministers  make  when  we  fail 
to  extend  the  utmost  personal  sympathy  to  the 
afflicted. 

Nor  must  we  attempt  to  apply  certain  bandages 
of  consolation  too  soon.  The  bleeding  heart  must 
bleed  awhile ;  the  weeping  eyes  must  weep,  or  the 
heart  will  burst.  Jesus  himself  sought  the  relief 
of  tears;  none  dared* to  say  to  him  at  Bethany, 
"  Why  weepest  Thou  ?  " 

That  pastor  fails  utterly  who  attempts  to  com- 
fort a  bereaved  heart  by  an  endeavor  to  stop  the 
natural  flow  of  grief  with  even  a  Bible  promise. 
Nature  must  have  her  way  before  divine  grace  can 
do  its  perfect  work.  Perhaps  this  simple  sugges- 
tion—  learned  from  personal  experience  —  may  be 
helpful  to  my  brother  pastors  in  dealing  with  that 
largest  family  in  their  parishes,  the  family  of  the 
sorrowing. 


212  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCLXIX. 

The  smallest  verse  in  the  Bible  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  deepest  in  its  heavenly  pathos.  Jesus 
wept.  ....  There  is  something  vicarious 
in  those  tears,  as  there  is  in  the  precious  blood 
shed  on  the  cross  a  few  days  afterwards.  His  love 
seems  to  "insert  itself  vicariously  right  into  our 
sorrows  ;  "  he  takes  the  burden  right  into  his  heart. 

CCLXX. 

What  a  magnificent  outburst  of  loyalty  opens 
the  ninety-third  psalm  !  The  Lord  reigneth  !  He 
is  clothed  with  majesty.  The  Lord  is  clothed 
with  strength,  wherewith  he  hath  girded  himself. 
Thy  throne  is  established  of  old.  Thou  art  from 
eternity.  Here  we  have  the  empire  of  love,  the 
royal  robe,  the  girdle  of  omnipotence,  and  the 
immovable  throne.  The  psalmist  would  seem  to 
have  been  thinking  of  the  problems  of  life,  its 
dark  things,  and  its  mysteries.  So  many  things 
seemed  irreconcilable  with  the  divine  goodness, 
that  he  admits  that  "  clouds  and  darkness  are 
round  about  him."  But  the  truth  flashed  out 
through  the  clouds,  the  Lord  reigns.  That  is 
enough.  He  does  not  try  to  pry  into  the  council 
chamber.  He  cannot  get  behind  the  cloud.  But 
love  reigneth  there,  and  "justice  and  righteousness 
are  the  foundation  of  his  throne." 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  213 

CCLXXI. 

As  far  as  his  providential  plans  .are  concerned, 
our  Heavenly  Father  is  verily  a  God  who  hideth 
himself.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  around  him, 
but  justice  and  righteousness  are  the  foundations  of 
his  throne.  We  dwell  on  the  lower  side  of  the 
cloud.  Upon  the  upper  side,  u[/on  God's  side,  the 
mysterious  cloud  of  his  providence  is  lined  with 
light.  We  do  not  see  it  until  he  sees  fit  to  clear 
away  the  mists  or  to  let  the  light  burst  through. 
Then  we  are  filled  with  wonder  and  joy.  .  .  . 
God's  long-dated  promises  are  honored  in  his  own 
good  time. 

CCLXXII. 

We  all  live  on  the  unilluminated  side  of  the 
cloud  behind  which  God  conceals  his  secret  pur- 
poses. As  on  a  cloudy  day  there  are  enough  rays 
of  the  sun  filtered  through  the  overhanging  vapor 
for  us  to  walk  by  and  to  work  by,  so  God  reveals 
truth  enough  for  all  our  practical  necessities. 

CCLXXIII. 

Sometimes  we  have  an  experience  in  life  that 
seems  like  walking  through  a  long,  dark  tunnel. 
The  chilling  air  and  the  thick  darkness  make  it 
hard  walking,  and  the  constant  wonder  is  why  we 


214  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

are  compelled  to  tread  so  gloomy  a  path  while 
others  are  in  the  open  day  of  health  and  happiness. 
We  can  only  fix  our  eyes  on  the  bright  light  at  the 
end  of  the  tunnel,  and  we  comfort  ourselves  with 
the  thought  that  every,  step  we  take  brings  us 
nearer  to  the  joy  and  the  rest  that  lie  at  the  end  of 
the  way.  Extinguish  the  light  of  Heaven  that 
gleams  in  the  distance,  and  this  tunnel  of  trial 
would  become  a  horrible  tomb. 

Every  week  a  pastor  has  to  confront  these  mys- 
teries in  the  dealings  of  a  God  of  love.  To  the 
torturing  question,  "  Why  does  God  lead  me  into 
this  valley  of  the  shadow  of  darkness  ?  "  We  can 
only  reply  :  "  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seems  good 
in  thy  sight."  We  are  brought  into  the  tunnel, 
however  we  shrink  back.  There  is  no  retreat  ; 
we  have  nothing  left  to  us  but  to  grasp  the  very 
hand  that  brought  us  there,  and  push  forward. 

When  we  reach  Heaven  we  may  discover  that 
the  richest,  and  deepest,  and  most  profitable  expe- 
riences we  had  in  this  world  were  those  which  were 
gained  in  the  very  roads  from  which  we  shrank 
back  with  dread.  The  real  victory  of  faith  is 
to  trust  God  in  the  dark  and  through  the  dark. 
Let  us  be  assured  of  this,  that  if  the  lesson  and  rod 
are  of  his  appointing,  and  that  his  all-wise  love  has 
engineered  the  deep  tunnels  of  trial  on  the  heaven- 
ward road,  he  will  never  desert  us  during  the  disci- 
pline. The  vital  thing  for  us  is  not  to  deny  and 
desert  him. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  215 

CCLXXIV. 

There  is  a  prodigious  leverage  for  our  faith  in 
the  glorious  doctrine  of  God's  providential  love. 
It  enables  us  to  remove  mountains  out  of  our  way. 
It  stimulates  us  to  perservering  effort  in  the  face 
of  every  obstacle. 

CCLXXV. 

Our  all-wise  and  loving  God  is  constantly  un- 
folding himself  to  his  earthly  children.  All  scien- 
tific discovery  is  the  passage  from  the  unknown 
into  the  known  ;  every  truth  discovered  is  a  fresh 
unfolding  of  the  Creator.  Very  slowly,  very  grad- 
ually is  this  progress  effected.  Centuries  passed 
away  before  Galileo  found  out  the  rotation  of  the 
earth,  and  Newton  the  law  of  gravitation.  Other 
generations  must  roll  by  before  man  learned 
enough  about  God's  laws  of  electro-magnetism  to 
fashion  the  ocean  telegraph.  Yet  these  laws  were 
all  in  existence  in  the  days  of  Noah  and  Abraham  ; 
only  they  had  not  yet  been  unfolded.  I  once 
spent  a  night  on  Mount  Righi,  and  there  was  no 
thing  visible  for  a  rood  from  my  window.  But 
when  the  morning  broke,  the  icy  crowns  of  the 
Jungfrau  and  the  Schreckhorn  began  to  glitter  in 
the  early  beams.  They  had  been  there  all  the 
night  waiting  for  the  unfoldings  of  the  dawn. 
Even  so  have  all  God's  laws  of  the  material  uni- 


216  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

verse  and  all  his  purposes  of  redeeming  mercy 
through  Jesus  Christ  been  in  existence  from  the 
beginning.  They  only  waited  for  the  dayspring  of 
discovery.  And  one  of  the  most  delightful  occu- 
pations of  a  devout  mind  is  to  watch  the  unfolding- 
of  God,  and  to  drink  in  new  truths  as  he  gradually 
reveals  them. ' 

CCLXXVI. 

Every  day  intensifies  my  conviction  that  the 
most  effectual  method  of  saving  society  and  build- 
ing up  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  is  to  strike  for  the 
children.  Romanism  understands  this  ;  and  within 
the  first  month  of  its  existence  the  hand  of  the 
priest  is  on  the  head  of  the  babe.  The  secret  of 
the  long  life  of  Judaism  through  the  centuries  is 
to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  law  of  Moses  has 
been  the  first  and  deepest  instruction  of  every 
black-eyed  boy  and  girl  born  within  the  Israelitish 
fold.  What  a  strange  blindness  and  stupidity  is 
shown  in  the  ranks  of  Protestantism  very  often  ;  to 
transplant  grown  trees  instead  of  shoots  and  sap- 
lings, would  not  be  more  preposterous. 

CCLXXVII. 

Childhood  is  the  May  of  life  —  its  seeding  and 
planting  time.  The  Devil  never  despises  one  of 
the  little  ones.  He  sows  his  tares  in  the  mellow 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  217 

soil.  Give  him  the  children  and  he  is  sure  of  the 
men  and  women.  Let  the  oath  or  the  lie  get  upon 
the  lips  before  Christ's  words  do,  and  those  lips 
will  not  be  easily  cleansed.  If  a  boy  is  not  taught 
to  understand  and  to  hate  the  intoxicating  glass, 
he  runs  a  terrible  risk  of  being  stung  by  the  adder. 
If  our  children  are  not  led  early  toward  Christ, 
they  will  get  their  feet  thoroughly  planted  in  the 
road  to  death.  No  wiser,  diviner  sentence  ever 
fell  from  the  lips  of  the  Great  Teacher  than  when 
he  said  :  Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  — i.  e., 
that  ye  neglect  not  or  even  overlook  not,  one  of 
these  little  ones. 

CCLXXVIII. 

Jesus  was  the  first  religious  teacher  who  ever 
honored  childhood.  The  Greek  and  Roman  phil- 
osophers and  moralists  regarded  children  as.  so 
many  weaklings  to  be  fed,  educated,  or  amused. 
Jesus  had  not  only  a  perfect  sympathy  with  chil- 
dren, but  he  made  them  types  and  emblems  of  the 
best  qualities  of  Christian  character.  Their  sim- 
plicity, their  implicit  trustfulness,  their  depend- 
ence, and  other  traits  were  to  be  sought  for  as 
elements  of  the  best  developed  piety.  Setting  a 
Jewish  child  in  the  presence  of  his  disciples,  he 
said  to  them  — 

"  Except  ye  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall 
not  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 


218  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCLXXIX. 

A  very  large  portion  of  Christ's  inspired  biogra- 
phy is  occupied  by  his  personal  interviews  —  witfi  a 
guilty  woman  by  a  well,  with  a  publican  by  the 
wayside,  with  a  young  ruler,  with  a  blind  beggar, 
or  with  a  Nicodemus  in  a  private  room.  To  the 
Son  of  God,  as  to  every  faithful  Gospel-minister, 
one  soul  was  a  great  audience.  The  single  ex- 
tended discourse  which  Christ  delivered,  was 
aimed  at  every  auditor  before  him. 

There  is  an  unbolted  door  in  about  everybody's 
heart,  if  we  will  only  ask  God  to  show  us  where  to 
find  it. 

CCLXXX. 

It  is  not  honest  work  that  really  wears  any 
Christian  out.  It  is  the  ague  fit  of  worry  that 
consumes  strength  and  furrows  the  cheek  and 
brings  on  decrepitude.  That  giant  of  Jesus  Christ 
who  drew  the  gospel  chariot  from  Jerusalem  to 
Rome,  and  had  the  care  of  all  the  churches  on  his 
great  heart,  never  complained  of  being  tired.  The 
secret  was,  he  never  chafed  his  powers  with  a 
moment's  worry.  He  was  doing  God's  work,  and 
he  left  God  to  be  responsible  for  results.  He 
knew  whom  he  believed,  and  felt  perfectly  sure 
that  all  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  who 
love  the  Lord  Jesus. 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  219 

CCLXXXI. 

The  most  successful  toilers  are  those  who  know 
best  how  to  serve  God  in  "small  things."  The 
Almighty  never  "  despises  the  day  of  small  things," 
or  else  he  would  not  put  his  mighty  oaks  into 
acorns,  or  his  golden  grain-crops  into  little  seed- 
bags. 

CCLXXXII. 

I  may  be  voyaging  to  eternity  in  a  little  boat  ; 
but  however  humble  be  the  craft,  it  contains  my 
immortal  hopes.  Only  here  and  there  is  a  great 
galley  to  be  seen,  with  its  banks  of  oars.  But  the 
tiniest  skiff  that  bears  a  child's  soul,  or  is  freighted 
with  the  humblest  disciple's  little  all,  is  just  as 
surely  under  our  Commander's  eye,  as  if  it  were  a 
royal  argosy.  We  are  safe  even  in  a  little  boat 
when  Jesus  keeps  watch  over  it.  Many  a  seventy- 
four,  manned  with  self-righteousness,  has  foundered 
in  the  deep;  but  Heaven's  harbor  will  be  covered 
with  little  boats  that  our  Commander  has  piloted 
home  through  storm  and  darkness. 

CCLXXXIII. 

How  can  a  Christian  sleep  in  such  an  age  as 
ours  ?  When  life  grows  grand  ere  very  year,  by  the 
increased  knowledge  and  extended  facilities  for 


220  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

achieving  great  results  for  God  and  humanity? 
When  so  many  harvest  fields  of  labor  invite  the 
sturdy  arm  and  glowing  heart  ?  When  the  wails  of 
a  world's  sorrow  rise  on  every  gale  ?  To  sleep 
through  such  a  period  of  the  world's  history  is  a 
fearful  crime.  Truly  is  it  "  as  in  against  heaven 
to  have  no  pulse  that  beats  in  the  palpitations  of 
an  age  that  trembles  with  the  footsteps  of  an  ad- 
vancing God." 

CCLXXXIV. 

A  rich  soul  can  be  always  giving ;  as  the  noon- 
day sun  overflows  his  golden  urn  of  ceaseless  ra- 
diance, and  is  yet  none  the  poorer  in  warmth  and 
glory  when  a  whole  universe  has  been  lighted. 

CCLXXXV. 

As  the  glory  of  a  healthy  apple-tree  is  its  fruit, 
so  the  glory  of  a  genuine  Christian  is  his  usefulness. 
He  does  not  merely  blossom  out  with  a  godly  pro- 
fession, he  bears  fruit  with  all  his  might  and 
main.  There  is  not  a  sapless  twig  or  a  barren 
bough  on  the  whole  tree  which  is  planted  by  the 
rivers  of  grace  and  yieldeth  its  fruit  every  month. 
In  our  old  home  orchard,  there  were  many  varieties 
of  apples.  So  in  God's  orchards  there  are  ancient 
olives — Augustine  and  Calvin  —  rich,  juicy  "  sweet- 
ings "  like  Rutherford  and  Baxter  —  mellow  pippins 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  221 

grown  by  Leighton,  Hamilton,  and  Taylor,  and 
bountiful  bearers  like  Spurgeon  and  Newman  Hall. 
Even  some  small  trees  bear  large  fruit.  Whether 
on  a  foreign  mission  field,  or  in  an  humble  tract- 
district,  or  in  a  charity  school,  or  in  a  sick  room 
where  love  moves  about  with  gentle  tread  —  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit  ripen  under  the  smile  of  God. 
Herein  is  the  Father  glorified,  that  we  bear  much 
fruit  on  every  branch. 

CCLXXXVI. 

Those  first  Christians  were  men  and  women  who 
understood  thoroughly  their  personal  responsibility 
and  the  power  of  personal  effort.  Find,  if  you 
can,  the  appointment  of  a  single  "committee"  in 
the  Eook  of  Acts.  Seven  men  were  indeed  desig- 
nated to  the  work  of  dispensing .  charities  to  the 
poor ;  but  that  was  done  in  order  to  release  the 
others  for  personal  labor  in  preaching  the  Word  of 
Life.  Very  little  is  said  about  church  organiza- 
tions. Nothing  was  allowed  to  keep  man  from 
man ;  the  individual  believer  from  the  individual 
sinner.  Peter  goes  right  after  Cornelius ;  Philip 
talks  directly  to  the  Eunuch  ;  Aquila  and  his  wife 
have  Apollos  as  their  "  Bible  class;"  and  Dorcas 
is  a  "sewing  society "  in  herself.  Amid  all  the 
endless  prattle  about  "work"  and  "lay  labor"  is 
there  not  danger  that  each  Christian  will  forget 
that  he  or  she  is  the  bearer  of  one  lamp,  and  if 


222  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

that  lamp  be  well  filled  and  its  light  be  thrown  on 
one  sinner's  path,  more  good  will  be  accomplished 
than  by  a  whole  torch-light  procession  got  up  for 
parade  ?  A  crowd  is  often  in  the  way  when  an 
individual  is  to  be  rescued.  Christ  led  a  deaf  man 
out  of  the  crowd  when  he  wished  to  deal  with 
him  alone.  Those  early  Christians  did  wonders 
for  God  and  for  a  dying  world.  They  accomplished 
it  by  the  simple  method,  "every  man  to  his  work." 
Personal  holiness  made  each  one  a  partner  with 
the  invincible  Jesus. 

CCLXXXVII. 

Useful  occupation  is  not  only  a  tonic,  it  is  a 
sedative  to  the  troubled  spirit.  Instead  of  looking 
in  upon  our  own  griefs  until  we  magnify  them,  we 
should  rather  look  at  the  sorrows  of  others,  in 
order  to  lighten,  and  lessen  them. 

Honest  work  seldom  hurts  us  ;  it  is  worry  that 
kills.  .  .  .  God  never  has  built  a  Christian 
strong  enough  to  stand  the  strain  of  present  duties 
and  all  the  tons  of  to-morrow's  duties  and  suffer- 
ings piled  upon  the  top  of  them. 

CCLXXXVIII. 

The  great  truth  to  be  taught  nowadays  is  that 
every  member  of  Christ's  flock  is  called  to  Christ's 
service,  in  some  way  or  method.  The  humblest 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  223 

have  a  share  in  the  work,  and  may  have  a 
share  in  the  glory  at  the  final  day  of  corona- 
tion. That  individual  church  in  which  the  "•  rank 
and  file"  are  all  seeking  the  Spirit,  and  living 
lives  of  personal  consecration  to  Christ,  is  more 
likely  to  be  a  powerful  church  than  if  it  had  a 
Whitefield  or  a  Chalmers  for  its  pastor.  The 
need  of  the  hour  is  not  for  more  geniuses  and 
scholars  in  the  pulpit,  but  for  more  personal  piety 
and  consecration  among  the  masses  of  God's 
people. 

CCLXXXIX. 

God  has  ordained  that  this  world's  lusts  and 
pleasures  and  treasures  shall  pass  away.  He  has 
also  ordained  that  one  kind  of  life  and  one  kind  of 
labor  shall  abide  forever.  It  is  the  life  that  is 
spent  in  doing  his  will ;  it  is  the  labor  that  is 
spent  in  advancing  his  kingdom.  He  is  the  wise 
man  whose  chief  question  every  day  is,  "  Lord, 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?  "  Along  the  line 
of  his  everyday's  thoughts  and  activities  he  detects 
the  will  of  God  running.  He  strives  to  know  that 
will  and  to  do  it.  This  is  the  object  of  his  Bible- 
reading,  his  prayers,  and  his  watchings  of  himself 
and  of  Providence.  And  every  word  he  utters, 
every  act  he  performs  in  conformity  with  his 
Father's  will,  has  an  enduring  permanence. 

One  hundred  years  ago  scores  of  British  mer- 


224  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

chants  and  bankers  were  toiling  to  make  solid 
fortunes ;  and  scores  of  writers  and  civilians  were 
toiling  to  win  solid  fame ;  and  thousands  more 
were  striving  for  solid  happiness  in  some  selfish 
fashion.  They  are  all  gone  now  —  forgotten  like 
last  winter's  snowflakes.  But  a  modest  servant  of 
Christ  in  Gloucester,  named  Raikes,  determined  to 
gather  in  the  poor  children  of  the  pin-makers  on 
Sunday  afternoon,  and  teach  them  some  whole- 
some Bible  truths.  A  less  conspicuous  man  there 
hardly  was  in  King  George's  dominions  than  this 
modest  editor  of  an  obscure  paper.  But  to-day  all 
Christendom  stands  in  grateful  admiration  before 
the  magnificent  structure  of  Sabbath-school  influ- 
ence and  power  which  has  been  rising  for  one 
hundred  years.  It  is  one  of  the  solidest  structures 
on  the  globe ;  it  will  outlive  all  the  fortunes  and 
the  fame  which  worldlings  were  toiling  after  a 
century  ago.  That  massive  monument  bears  the 
modest  name  of  Robert  Raikes,  and  beneath  are 
inscribed  these  Heaven-sent  words,  "This  world 
passeth  away  and  the  lust  thereof ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth  forever." 

Such  lives  never  end.  Such  labor  lasts.  Chal- 
mers lives  to-day  in  the  Free  Kirk  of  Scotland. 
Franke  is  still  giving  homes  to  orphans ;  and 
Howard's  hand  is  still  purifying  prisons.  John 
Bunyan  helps  me  towards  Heaven  every  day ; 
William  Cowper  sings  in  our  prayer-meeting  con- 
tinually, "There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood." 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  225 

Charles  Hodge  preaches  every  Sabbath  in  scores 
of  American  pulpits.  Their  works  do  follow  them. 
Such  work  will  outlast  the  Pyramids  even.  Not 
merely  the  noble  deeds  of  these  conspicuous  saints 
and  benefactors  will  endure,  but  every  faithful  word 
and  every  godly  act  of  every  honest  Christian,  even 
the  humblest  and  obscurest,  will  link  itself  with 
Almighty  strength,  and  "  abide  forever" 

ccxc. 

There  is  only  one  cure  for  indolence,  effort.  The 
only  cure  for  selfishness,  sacrifice.  The  only  cure 
for  timidity,  to  plunge  into  duty  before  the  shiver 
comes  on.  The  only  cure  for  unbelief,  trust  Christ. 

CCXCI. 

Perhaps  the  severest  strain  is  put  upon  our  faith 
by  what  we  consider  the  provoking  delays  on  the 
part  of  God.  We  work  for  results,  expect  results, 
and  yet  the  results  do  not  come.  What  pastor, 
what  Sunday-school  teacher,  what  praying  parent, 
has  not  had  his  or  her  faith  sorely  tried  in  this 
way  over  and  over  again  ?  The  trouble  is,  that  we 
imagine  that  we  can  command  the  results,  when 
we  are  no  more  responsible  for  them  than  a  dili- 
gent farmer  is  for  next  week's  weather.  He  that 
observeth  the  clouds  shall  not  sow,  and  he  that 
regardeth  the  winds  shall  never  reap.  For  what 


2"2Q  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

we  entrust  to  God,  you  and  I  are  not  responsible. 
He  is  our  Trustee.  It  is  not  my  "lookout,"  but 
his,  whether  my  honest  endeavors  succeed  or  be 
baffled.  Peter  was  not  responsible  for  the  num- 
ber of  sick  people  he  should  restore  at  Lydda,  or  of 
the  dead  he  should  raise  at  Joppa,  or  of  converts 
that  he  should  win  at  Caesarea.  All  that  we  are 
responsible  for  is  the  unwearied,  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  duty  to  its  very  uttermost ;  everything 
beyond  that  belongs  to  God.  If  he  can  wait  for 
results,  we  can.K  I  often  think  of  the  somewhat 
blunt  but  honest  answer  of  the  old  nurse  to  the 
impatient  mother  who  said  to  her,  "  Your  medicine 
don't  seem  to  make  my  dear  child  better."  The 
nurse  replied,  "Yes,  it  will ;  don't  you  worry.  You 
just  trust  God;  He  is  tedious,  but  lie's  sure."  The 
simple-hearted  old  body  blurted  out  in  her  homely 
way  what  we  ministers  often  feel,  though  we  should 
hardly  dare  to  phrase  it  as  she  did. 
^  The  pull  at  the  oar  of  duty  is  often  a  long  and 
tedious  one.  The  flesh  grows  weary  and  the  spirit 
faints  when  the  waves  smite  the  bow,  and  hinder 
our  headway.  Impatient  and  discouraged,  we 
sometimes  threaten  to  throw  down  the  oars  and 
"let  her  drift."  But  the  voice  of  the  Divine 
Helmsman  utters  the  kind  but  strong  rebuke, 
"O  ye  of  little  faith,  wherefore  do  ye  doubt?" 
And  before  we  are  aware,  the  bow  strikes  the 
strand,  and  we  are  at  the  very  land  whither  the 
Blessed  Pilot  was  guiding  us. 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  227 

CCXCII. 

The  discipline  of  the  human  heart  affords  one  of 
the  grandest  arenas  on  which  God  expends  the 
Divine  wisdom  and  exercises  the  Divine  love. 

CCXCIII. 

A  rainbow,  with  all  its  polychromatic  splendors, 
is  nothing  but  sunlight  playing  upon  a  background 
of  storm.  A  Christian's  joy  in  sorrow  is  simply 
the  reflection  of  Christ's  smile  of  love  upon  the 
cloud.  If  no  sun,  then  no  rainbow.  If  Jesus  be 
hidden,  then  hope  disappears.  If  Jesus  depart, 
how  great  is  that  darkness. 

CCXCIV. 

He  is  a  meagre,  crude,  unfinished,  unripe  and 
unimpressive  Christian  who  does  not  possess  those 
peculiar  graces  which  are  only  to  be  won  by  suffer- 
ing and  trial. 

CCXCV. 

The  chemist  who  is  purifying  silver  over  a  hot 
flame  always  keeps  the  crucible  on  the  fire  until 
he  can  see  his  own  face  reflected  in  the  clear  metal 
as  in  a  mirror.  When  the  dear  Jesus  who  "  sitteth 
as  a  refiner1'  over  your  heart  can  see  his  own 


228  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

ima^e  reflected  in  you,  then  will  the  chastening 
discipline  be  finished.  Then  he  can  break  the 
crucible,  and  pour  thy  gifts  and  thy  influence  into 
such  a  mould  as  may  suit  best  his  all-wise  purpose. 
He  requires  pure  gold  to  make  the  "vessel  to  his 
own  honor." 

CCXCVI. 

Among  God's  jewels,  there  is  no  brilliant  which 
flashes  with  such  lustre  as  the  tear  of  true 
penitence. 

CCXCVII. 

It  is  not  only  the  new  convert  unto  whom  Christ 
is  the  bringer  of  gladness ;  he  is  the  best  of  com- 
forters to  the  believer  in  his  times  of  shadow  and 
sorrow.  Ah,  my  brother,  there  is  an  "  upper 
room,"  a  secret  chamber  of  the  heart,  whose  key 
you  and  I  surrender  only  to  the  dearest  friend.  It 
is  the  soul's  sanctum  with  which  the  stranger  inter- 
meddled not.  Sometimes  that  apartment  becomes 
dark  and  lonesome.  The  candle  well  nigh  goes 
out,  and  the  atmosphere  is  chill  and  heavy.  One 
enters  through  the  closed  door,  and  the  assuring 
voice  of  his  love  speaketh  the  dear  old  words 
spoken  long  ago,  "  Peace  be  unto  you."  He  shows 
us  the  scars  of  his  self-sacrifice  ;  he  opens  the 
jewel-casket  of  his  promises.  His  consolations  fill 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  229 

the  room  with  their  heavenly  perfume.  On  that 
bosom  we  can  lay  our  sad,  weary  head ;  his  right 
hand  is  .underneath  it,  and  his  left  hand  doth  em- 
brace us.  Our  beloved  is  ours,  and  we  are  his; 
there  is  none  on  earth  whom  we  desire  beside  him. 
His  smile  fills  the  soul-chamber  with  sunshine,  and 
then  are  we  all  glad  because  we  have  seen  our 
Lord. 

CCXCVIII. 

God  keeps  a  school  for  his  children  here  on 
earth  ;  and  one  of  his  best  teachers  is  named  Dis- 
appointment. He  is  a  rough  teacher;  severe  in 
tone  and  harsh  in  his  handling,  sometimes,  but  his 
tuition  is  worth  all  it  costs.  Many  of  our  best  les- 
sons through  life  have  been  taught  us  by  that  same 
stern  old  schoolmaster,  Disappointment. 

CCXCIX. 

Sharp  bodily  affliction,  even  if  it  does  not  endanger 
life,  is  often  a  wholesome  process.  Paul's  thorn  in 
the  flesh,  Robert  Hall's  excruciating  pains  and 
Richard  Baxter's  physical  sufferings  were  a  very 
expensive  part  of  their  education,  but  they  gradu- 
ated with  higher  honor  and  a  brighter  crown. 
Fiery  trials  make  golden  Christians.  When  the 
balsam-trees  in  God's  garden  are  cut  deep  with  the 
knife  they  emit  the  sweetest  gums. 


230  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

The  hour  of  the  Christian's  extremity  is  the  hour 
of  Christ's  opportunity.  The  richest  jewels  of 
grace  often  lie  at  the  bottom  of  sorrow's  cup. 

CCC. 

When  Michael  Angelo  saw  a  block  of  marble 
lying  in  the  dirt,,he  said,  "  There  is  an  angel  in 
that  marble,  and  I  will  bring  it  out."  His  hammer 
and  chisel  struck  hard  and  deep,  till  the  angel 
came  forth.  God's  hammer  of  trial,  blow  on  blow, 
brings  out  such  angels  as  Faith,  and  sweet-visaged 
Peace,  and  strong-limbed  Patience  and  Sympathy, 
and  the  Love  that  has  the  likeness  of  Jesus  Christ. 

CCCI. 

The  bruised  flower  emits  most  fragrance ;  and 
a  bruised  Christian  puts  forth  the  sweetest  odors  of 

humility   and  heavenly-mindedness 

It  helps  a  vine  to  be  pruned.  Our  Father  uses  the 
knife  when  he  sees  that  we  require  it.  It  is  only 
one  of  his  ways  of  helping  us  in  the  time  of  need. 

CCCII. 

When  we  see  a  man  beaten  upon  with  adver- 
sity, or  lying  under  a  perfect  euroclydon  of  trials, 
and  yet  preserving  a  calm,  cheerful  spirit,  we  do 
not  see,  always,  whut  is  the  secret  of  his  serenity. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  231 

We  wonder  why  he  is  "  not  moved  as  other 
men  are."  But  God  sees  a  hope  sure  and  stead- 
fast, lying  down  deep  beneath  the  surface.  Trouble 
strips  the  man  of  much  of  his  external  gear  and 
cordage,  but  never  touches  the  interior  source  and 
strength  of  his  piety. 

CCCIII. 

• 

This  world's  boasted  successes  often  prove  to  be 
wretched  failures ;  but  no  genuine  godly  life  was 
ever  a  failure.  Its  losses  are  turned  into  gains  ; 
its  crosses  are  wrought  into  crowns  of  glory.  The 
peace  which  sin  promises  is  a  mockery.  The  peace 
which  Jesus  bestows  passeth  all  understanding  and 
is  insured  beyond  all  contingencies. 

CCCIV. 

There  is  not  a  spiritual  biography  in  all  of 
Christ's  universal  Church,  in  all  ages,  but  presents 
a  constant  alternation  of  ufls  and  downs.  When  a 
Christian  is  carrying  to  many  topsails,  God  is  very 
apt  to  send  a  gale  which  strips  off  the  canvas. 
"  He  that  exalteth  himself  shall  be  abased "  is 
as  true  of  the  Christian  as  it  is  of  the  worldling. 
But  when  a  chastened  soul  lies  very  low  before 
God,  how  sweet  it  is  to  hear  him  whisper  in 
the  ear  of  faith,  "  Whoso  humbleth  himself  shall  be 
exalted." 


232  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

We  very  much  doubt  if  it  would  be  safe  for 
us  always  to  be  "  up  "  in  the  world.  It  is  a  whole- 
some process  to  be  "  taken  down"  occasionally. 
The  grass  in  our  dooryards  has  a  tendency  to 
grow  rank,  and  it  requires  to  be  taken  down  by  a 
mower.  The  yard  never  looks  so  well  as  after  the 
sharp  cutter  has  gone  over  it.  Many  a  true  Chris- 
tian never  appears  so  attractive  in  his  graces 
as  when  God's  flowing-machine  has  gone  over 
him.  His  self  confidence,  or  his  growing  love 
of  the  world,  or  his  sinful  ambitions  needed  the 
scythe.  Even  Paul  himself  would  not  have  grown 
up  so  thick  and  even,  and  strong  from  the  roots,  if 
he  had  not  been  mowed  pretty  often.  The  best 
trees  in  the  orchard  need  trimming. 

CCCV. 

In  one  of  the  German  picture  galleries  is  a  paint- 
ing called  "  Cloud-land."  It  hangs  at  the  end  of  a 
long  gallery,  and  at  first  sight  it  looks  like  a  huge, 
repulsive  daub  of  confused  color,  without  form  or 
comeliness.  As  you  walk  towards  it  the  picture 
begins  to  take  shape.  It  proves  to  be  a  mass  of 
exquisite  little  cherub  faces,  like  those  at  the  head 
of  the  canvas  in  Raphael's  "  Madonna  San  Sisto." 
If  you  come  close  to  the  picture,  you  see  only  an 
innumerable  company  of  little  angels  and  cherubim  ! 
How  often  the  soul  that  is  frightened  by  trial  sees 
nothing  but  a  confused  and  repulsive  mass  of 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  233 

broken  expectations  and  crushed  hopes !  But  if 
that  soul,  instead  of  fleeing  away  into  unbelief  and 
despair,  would  only  draw  up  near  to  God,  it  would 
soon  discover  that  the  cloud  was  full  of  angels  of 
mercy.  In  one  cherub  face  it  would  see,  "  Whom 
I  love,  I  chasten."  Another  angel  would  say,  "All 
things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that  love 
God."  In  still  another  sweet  face  the  heavenly 
words  are  coming  forth,  "  Let  not  your  hearts 
be  troubled  ;  believe  also  in  me.  In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions.  Where  I  am  there 
shall  ye  be  also." 

CCCVI. 

Patience  is  a  beautiful  trait,  but  it  is  not  worn 
oftenest  by  those  who  walk  on  life's  sunny  side  in 
silver  slippers.  It  is  the  product  of  dark  nights  of 
tempest,  and  of  those  days  of  adversity  whose  high 
noon  is  but  a  midnight.  For  "  The  trial  of  your 
faith  worketh  patience." 

CCCVII. 

Prosperity  brings  out  only  a  few  of  a  man's  good 

graces When    a    favorable    wind 

strikes  a  vessel  "  right  aft "  it  only  fills  a  portion 
of  the  sails;  when  it  veers  round  and  strikes  it 
"on  the  beam,"  then  every  inch  of  canvas  is 
reached.  If  the  Lord  is  so  shifting  the  winds  that 


23 1  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

they  reach  thy  undeveloped  graces  of  humility,  and 
faith,  and  patience,  and  unselfish  love,  do  not  be 
alarmed.  He  does  not  mean  to  swamp  thee,  or 
send  thee  on  a  lee  shore  ;  he  only  intends  to  bring 
thee  into  a  "better  trim,"  and  give  thee  a  more 
abundant  entrance  into  the  desired  haven. 

CCCVIII. 

In  a  musical  instrument  there  are  some  keys 
that  must  be  touched  in  order  to  evoke  its  fullest 
melodies  ;  God  is  a  wonderful  organist,  who  knows 
just  what  heart-chord  to  strike. 

CCCIX. 

The  school  of  suffering  graduates  rare  scholars. 
To  the  disciples  in  that  school  it  is  often  given  to 
"  know  the  love  of  Jesus  which  passeth  knowledge." 
Suffering  Christian !  be  not  in  haste  to  quit  thy 
Master's  school ;  thou  art  fitting  for  the  High 
School  of  Heaven.  Push  not  away  peevishly  thy 
cup  of  sorrow ;  for  the  sparkling  diamond  of 
Christ's  love  for  thee  is  in  the  draught  he  gives 
thee  to  drink. 

cccx. 

God  never  deceives  his  children.  If  we  but 
keep  fast  hold  to  the  Guiding  Hand,  we  shall  find 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  235 

the  road  to  be  not  one  step  longer  or  harder  than 
is  best  for  us.  God  has  piloted  every  saint  through 
this  very  road  and  up  these  very  hills  of  difficulty. 
It  will  be  better  further  on.  Every  chastening  of 
a  believer's  soul  lies  at  the  end  of  a  painful  ordeal. 
Every  success  worth  the  having  lies  at  the  end  of 
brave,  protracted  toil.  Twenty  years  of  storm  must 
be  battled  through  by  Wilberforce  and  Clarkson 
before  Negro  Emancipation  is  enacted  by  the 
British  Parliament.  At  evening-time  the  sky  was 
crimsoned  with  the  flush  of  victory. 

CCCXI. 

Very  few  even  of  Christ's  choice  ones  can  travel 
life's  railway  with  perfect  safety  at  forty  miles  an 
hour.  The  heated  axle  is  very  apt  to  snap,  or  else 
the  engine  flies  the  track  of  conformity  to  God  and 
goes  off  the  embankment. 

CCCXIL 

If  we  turn  up  a  certain  verse  in  the  fourteenth 
chapter  of  the  Second  Book  of  Samuel,  we  shall 
find  a  truth  hidden  under  a  historical  incident. 
The  incident  is  on  this  wise  :  Absalom,  the  artful 
aspirant  to  his  father's  throne,  wishes  to  have  an 
interview  with  Joab,  the  field  marshall  of  David's 
army.  He  sends  for  Joab  to  come  to  him,  but 
Joab  refuses.  Finding  that  the  obstinate  old  sol- 


236  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

clier  pays  no  heed  to  his  urgent  request,  he  prac- 
tised a  stratagem. 

"  See  !  Joab's  field  is  next  to  mine,  and  he  hath 
barley  there.  Go  and  set  it  on  fire  !  And  Absa- 
lom's servants  set  the  field  on  fire.  Then  Joab 
arose  and  came  to  Absalom." 

Now,  just  as  the  shrewd  young  prince  dealt  with 
Joab  in  order  to  bring  him  unto  him,  so  God  em- 
ploys a  regimen  of  discipline  very  often  in  order  to 

bring  wayward  hearts  to  himself 

There  was  a  time  when  our  ration  had  shamefully 
backslidden  from  the  fundamental  principles  of  our 
Declaration  of  Independence.  The  value  of  cotton 
crops  outweighed  the  value  of  liberty.  The  right- 
eous God  saw  that  we  cared  more  for  the  perpetuity 
of  our  Union  and  our  prosperity  than  we  did  for 
the  rights  of  four  millions  of  his  children.  But 
when  the  first  flash  of  a  national  conflagration 
lighted  up  the  Southern  sky,  then  millions  of  af- 
frighted voices  began  to  cry  out  — 

"Why  is  our  magnificent  Union  given  to  the 
flames  ?  We  could  sleep  while  God's  law  of  right 
was  trampled  under  foot ;  but  when  the  national 
peace  and  power  and  pride  were  trodden  down  by 
the  same  remorseless  heel,  we  awoke,  as  a  man 
awakes  at  the  cry  of  "  fire  "  under  his  own  roof- 
tree. 

God  saw  what  we  prized  most,  and  he  touched 
that.  It  is  better  to  lose  the  barley  than  to  lose 
the  blessing. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  237 

CCCXIII. 

A  vivid  emotion  of  love  and  gratitude  is  very  apt 
to  break  out  into  speech,  either  in  the  form  of  a 
public  testimony  for  Christ,  or  in  the  voice  of  song. 
I  have  known  a  prayer-meeting,  at  a  time  of  awak- 
ening, to  become  like  an  aviary,  for  God  had  put  a 
new  song  into  scores  of  mouths. 

CCCXIV. 

Joy  is  simply  love  looking  at  its  treasures.  A 
Christian's  joy  is  in  clasping  Christ  and  looking 
forward  to  the  hour  when  he  shall  see  him  as  he  is. 
Earth  is  the  believer's  ante-chamber  to  Heaven. 

CCCXV. 

Kind  words  are  the  oil  that  lubricates  every-day 
intercourse.  They  cost  little.  A  phrase  of  com- 
mon comfort,  "  that  by  daily  use  hath  almost  lost 
its  sense,  will  fall  upon  the  saddened  heart  like  choic- 
est music." 

CCCXVI. 

Raptures  are  not  always  vouchsafed  even  to  the 
most  genuine  converts.  But  you  ought  to  feel 
a  solid  satisfaction  in  following  Christ.  A  healthy 
man  will  enjoy  a  ripe  peach,  or  a  luscious  bunch  of 


238  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

grapes.  There  must  be  something  lacking  in  any 
one's  experience  who  professes  to  be  feeding  on 
Christ,  and  doing  Christ's  will,  and  yet  finds  no 
delight  in  it.  How  can  we  love  Jesus,  and  not 
know  the  fact,  or  experience  no  joy  in  the  emo- 
tion ? 

CCCXVII. 

Palestine  was  a  musical  aviary  in  the  spring  ;  it 
abounded  with  sparrows,  goldfinches,  larks  and 
song-thrushes.  In  the  Song  of  Solomon  this  annual 
outbreak  of  bird-melody  is  made  a  beautiful  type 
of  the  return  of  Christ  to  his  bride  the  Church. 
When  Jesus  comes  into  the  soul,  the  winter  of  un- 
belief is  ended,  the  spices  of  spiritual  joy  begin  to 
"flow  out,"  the  new  hope  begins  to  blossom,  and  a 
new  song  is  put  into  the  heart,  even  of  praise  unto 
our  God. 

CCCXVIII. 

When  Latimer  was  on  trial  for  heresy,  he  heard 
the  scratch  of  a  pen  behind  the  tapestry.  In  a 
moment  he  bethought  himself  that  every  word  he 
spoke  was  taken  down,  and  he  says  that  he  was 
very  careful  what  words  he  uttered.  Behind  the 
veil  that  hides  eternity  is  a  record-book,  in  which 
our  every  syllable  is  taken  down.  Even  the  most 
trivial  are  not  forgotten,  for  the  Lord  Jesus  tells  us 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT  239 

that  "every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they 
shall  give  account  thereof  in  the  Day  of  Judgment ! " 
If  our  words  have  an  eternity  of  existence,  if  good 
words  have  so  potent  an  influence  to  save,  if  idle, 
or  profane,  or  poisonous  speech  work  such  peren- 
nial mischief,  how  needful  is  the  perpetual  utter- 
ance of  the  prayer,  "  Set  a  watch,  O  Lord,  before 
my  mouth ;  keep  the  door  of  my  lips." 

CCCXIX. 

What  a  powerful  picture  of  a  soul  without  God 
is  that  drawn  in  the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  which  de- 
scribes it  as  a  "  troubled  sea,  whose  waters  cast  up 
mire  and  dirt."  This  is  the  work  of  memory.  Let 
the  wrong-doer  try  to  hide  his  sins  as  carefully  or 
to  bury  them  as  deeply  as  he  knows  how,  memory 
will  throw  them  to  the  surface  as  troubled  waters 
heave  up  what  has  been  flung  into  their  depths. 
When  a  vessel  had  sunk  in  Lake  Erie,  an  effort 
was  made  to  raise  the  bodies  of  the  drowned  pas- 
sengers by  firing  heavy  cannon  over  the  spot ;  and 
the  jar  brought  them  up.  So  the  tremendous 
artillery  of  God's  justice — manned  by  those  two 
gunners  Memory  and  Conscience  —  brings  up  to 
our  eyes  the  hideous  sins  which  we  thought  were 
buried  forever.  Conscience  utters  two  great 
voices.  One  of  them  declares  "  Great  peace  have 
they  who  love  God's  law  ;  in  keeping  his  command- 
ments is  great  reward."  The  other  voice  is,  "  There 


240  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

is  no  peace  to  the  wicked  ;  they  are  like  the  trou- 
bled sea  which  cannot  rest;  the  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
Just  in  proportion  as  we  hear  and  heed  these  voices, 
conscience  becomes  our  sweetest  comforter,  or  our 
most  terrible  tormentor. 

cccxx. 

A  sanctified  memory  is  the  soul's  storeroom. 
We  pity  the  man  with  whom  this  is  but  an  empty 
garret  or  a  confused  lumber-room,  heaped  up  with 
accumulated  things,  so  hopelessly  mingled  that  its 
owner  can  never  lay  hands  on  what  he  needs  at  the 
moment.  With  a  devout  believer  the  memory  is  a 
cabinet  of  curiosities  of  God's  love.  In  no  apart- 
ment does  Jesus  abide  oftener  than  in  this ;  here 
the  alabaster-box  of  gratitude  is  broken,  and  the 
room  is  filled  with  the  sweet  odor  of  the  ointment. 

CCCXXI. 

Constant  longings  and  inquisitive  yearnings 
arise  in  many  minds  to  know  more  about  Heaven. 
For  example,  a  bereaved  mother  writes  to  me  this 
week  :  "  Do  you  imagine  that  the  passage  in  Zach- 
ariah  which  describes  the  boys  and  girls  playing 
in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem,  is  intended  to  be  any 
description  of  the  Celestial  City  ?  "  Her  motherly 
heart,  in  its  achings,  laid  hold  of  an  olden  prophecy, 
and  tried  to  catch  a  glimpse  through  it  of  the 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  241 

darling  boy  whose  playthings  now  lie  idle  on  her 
nursery  floor.  Well,  we  will  venture  to  tell  her 
that  if  she  reaches  Heaven,  the  first  person  she 
will  want  to  see  will  not  be  even  that  beloved  boy. 
The  walls  of  sapphire,  or  the  streets  like  unto  pure 
gold,  or  the  innumerable  company  of  the  shining 
ones,  will  not  be  the  chief  attraction.  The  glory 
of  Heaven  will  be  to  see  Jesus.  If  it  were  possible 
to  weep  there,  we  shall  shed  tears  of  joy  at  the 
first  view  of  Him  whose  agonies  secured  for  us 
that  magnificent  inheritance.  We  shall  be  "glad 
because  we  see  our  Lord."  How  overflowing,  too, 
will  be  our  gratitude  that  he  has  kept  for  us  all  the 
treasures  we  committed  to  his  hands ! 

CCCXXII. 

Last  year  I  sat,  at  eventide,  on  the  battlements 
of  the  castellated  convent  of  Mar  Saba,  and  looked 
down  into  the  deep  gorge  of  the  Kidron  where  the 
jackals  have  their  lairs,  and  across  the  chasm 
where  the  Bedouins  were  prowling.  All  night  I 
laid  secure  in  the  strong  fortress  while  the  jackals 
howled  and  the  Bedouins  prowled.  So  may  every 
child  of  God  who  has  lodged  himself  in  the  strong- 
hold of  the  Divine  promise  rest  securely,  and  let 
the  Devil's  jackals  howl  as  loudly  as  they  like,  or 
the  Adversary  lie  in  wait  outside  the  solid  gate- 
way. This  is  the  promise  that  He  hath  promised 
to  every  true  believer,  even  eternal  life.  Cleave  to 


242  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

that.  As  long  as  we  trust  God  in  Christ  and 
attest  our  faith  by  our  conduct,  we  may  roll  the 
responsibility  of  our  salvation  over  on  God  him- 
self. But  will  this  life  outlast  the  grave  ?  Will  it 
reach  across  that  great  mysterious  chasm  that  sep- 
arates us  from  .the  unseen  world  ?  Will  it  be 
eternal?  These  are  the  questions  which  some- 
times torment  the  survivors  when  they  have  gone 
down  to  the  shore  of  the  unbridged  river,  and 
watched  a  beloved  child  or  husband  or  wife  disap- 
pear slowly  from  their  view.  Can  I  feel  sure  that 
there  is  a  Heaven  for  that  loved  one  to  land  in  ? 
Ah,  this  is  the  question  which  weeping  affection 
raises  in  ten  thousand  cases ;  and  nobody  comes 
back  from  that  other  world  to  answer  it.  What  is 
more  —  nobody  ever  will  come  back  to  bring  a 
single  syllable  of  assurance.  The  boats  on  that 
sombre  stream  all  head  in  one  direction  ;  there  are 
no  "  return  trips." 

Suppose  that  one  should  come  back  and  tell  us 
that  he  had  actually  found  a  Heaven,  and  entered 
it,  and  participated  in  its  splendors  and  joys.  If 
we  believed  the  statement  it  would  be  on  a  single 
human  authority.  But  if  we  would  believe  the  wit- 
ness of  a  man,  is  not  the  witness  of  the  Almighty 
God  infinitely  greater?  If  we  are  only  to  feel 
sure  of  Heaven  on  the  testimony  of  somebody 
returning  to  each  one  of  us,  then  would  we  con- 
sent to  exercise  a  faith  that  glorifies  a  worm  of 
the  dust  and  dishonor  the  God  of  the  universe.  I 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  243 

would  rather  trust  a  single  line  of  divine  promise 
than  a  myriad  of  human  assertions. 

CCCXXIII. 

Whatever  changes  may  be  produced  by  death, 
personal  identity  will  not  be  altered  by  one  jot  or 
tittle.  The  sinner  who  sins  here,  will  be  the  same 
sinner  who  will  be  punished  in  the  world  of  woe. 
The  believer  who  is  welcomed  with  "  Come,  thou 
blessed  of  my  Father ! "  will  be  the  same  person 
who  on  earth  had  done  the  Father's  bidding.  With- 
out the  preservation  of  perfect  identity  the  whole 
idea  of  a  future  retribution  of  rewards  and  punish- 
ments would  be  an  absurd  impossibility. 

CCCXXIV. 

A  grand  sight  is  an  old  weather-beaten  and 
battle-bruised  ship  —  like  Old  Ironsides  or  Lord 
Nelson's  Victory  —  which  has  ended  its  cruise 
and  swung  its  anchors  at  the  bow.  So  will 
Christ's  fleet  of  triumphant  souls  lie  in  the  desired 
haven  upon  the  sea  of  crystal,  and  in  the  silver 
light  of  Heaven's  morning ! 

cccxxv. 

The  future  is  an  unmapped  territory  ;  every  step 
is  literally  a  step  in  the  dark.  The  future  is  a 


244  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

"seven-sealed  book,"  and  no  man  can  unloose  the 
seals  thereof.  We  discover  its  contents  only  as 
God  unlooses  the  seals  and  turns  over  leaf  by  leaf, 
one  at  a  time.  Selfishness  often  aches  to  peep 
into  the  sealed  pages.  But  Faith  whispers  :  "  No, 
no ;  trust  God."  Every  joy  that  is  lying  in  wait  for 
me  at  some  new  turn  of  the  road  breaks  on  me  as 
a  sweet  surprise.  The  mercies,  like  transporting 
views  in  mountain  travels,  are  more  bewitching  that 
they  were  not  spoiled  by  anticipations.  God  does 
not  let  us  "  discount "  his  mercies  in  advance. 

CCCXXVI. 

A  thousand  things,  speculative  and  poetical,  have 
been  written  in  regard  to  the  Christian's  future 
home.  The  Bible  says  just  enough  to  rouse  our 
curiosity  and  to  stimulate  speculation,  but  not 
enough  to  spoil  the  sublime  mystery  which  over- 
hangs it  like  a  cloud  of  glory A  dis- 
tinctly bounded  place  of  abode  it  must  be,  or  else 
John's  view  of  it  from  Patmos  was  an  idle  phan- 
tasm  Why  surrender  the  view  of  a 

literal  home  of  the  redeemed  such  as  John  has  de- 
scribed to  us  ?  Why  volatilize  it  all  away  into  the 
thin  vapor  of  metaphor?  If  John  did  not  see  what 
he  described,  then  he  saw  nothing  at  all ;  and  if 
he  saw  nothing  real,  then  the  closing  visions  of  the 
Apocalypse  are  a  splendid  fog-bank.  .  .  . 
That  our  heavenly  home  will  satisfy  our  fullest 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  245 

social  longings,  we  cannot  doubt.  The  recognition 
of  friends  cannot  possibly  be  a  question  of  doubt. 
No  barriers  of  caste  can  separate  those  who  are 
children  of  the  one  Father  and  dwelling  in  the 
same  household.  When  Cineas,  the  ambassador  of 
Pyrrhus,  came  back  from  his  visit  to  Rome  in  the 
days  of  her  glory,  he  reported  to  his  sovereign  that 
he  had  seen  a  "commonwealth  of  kings."  So  will 
it  be  in  Heaven,  where  every  heir  of  redeeming 
grace  will  be  as  a  king  and  priest  unto  God,  and  a 
divine  adoption  shall  make  every  one  a  member  of 

the  royal  family 

Happy  is  that  child  of  Jesus  who  is  always 
listening  for  the  footfall  this  side  of  the  golden 
gate,  and  for  the  voice  of  invitation  to  hurry  home. 
.  .  .  .  There  is  a  delightful  permanence  in 
that  word,  "  Forever  with  the  Lord." 

CCCXXVII. 

There  is  something  beautifully  suggestive  in  the 
many-sidedness  of  Heaven,  with  gates  of  entrance 
from  every  point  of  the  compass.  It  emphasizes 
the  catholicity  of  God's  house,  into  which  all  the  re- 
deemed shall  enter,  from  all  parts  of  the  globe,  and 
with  their  varying  theological  and  denominational 
opinions.  All  shall  come  in  through  Christ  Jesus, 
and  yet  through  many  gateways.  Thank  God,  no 
bigot  shall  be  able  to  bar  out  one  soul  that  has 
been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ! 


246  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCCXXVIII. 

The  glory  of  Heaven  will  be  in  seeing  Jesus. 
"A  little  while  and  ye  shall  see  Me,  because  I  go 
unto  my  Father.  Where  I  am  ye  shall  be  also." 
When  we  return  home  after  a  long  absence,  it  is 
not  the  house  or  the  furniture  or  fireside  that 
awaken  our  joy.  It  is  meeting  the  loved  ones.  If 
they  have  gone,  every  forsaken  room  or  empty 
chair  is  an  agony.  So  in  our  Father's  house,  it 
will  not  be  the  pearl  gate  or  the  streets  of  gold  that 
will  make  us  happy.  But  oh  !  how  transcendently 
glad  will  we  be  when  we  see  our  Lord !  If  we 
ever  weep  in  Heaven  it  will  be  tears  of  joy  at 
meeting  Jesus.  Perhaps  in  that  "  upper  room  " 
also  he  may  show  unto  us  his  hands  and  .his 
side,  and  we  may  then  cry  out  as  did  happy 
Thomas : 

"  My  Lord,  and  my  God  ! " 

CCCXXIX. 

Abraham  Lincoln  lived  to  enter  Richmond  amid 
the  acclamations  of  the  liberated  slave  ;  he  lived 
until  Sumter's  flag  rose  again  like  Bethlehem's 
star  in  the  Southern  sky  ;  and  then  with  the  mar- 
tyr's crown  upon  his  brow,  and  with  four  millions 
of  broken  fetters  in  his  hand,  he  went  up  to  meet 
his  God.  In  a  moment  his  life  crystallized  into 
the  pure  white  flame  that  belongs  only  to  the  mar- 


BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  247 

tyr  for  truth  and  liberty.  Terrible  as  seemed 
to  us  the  method  of  his  death,  it  was,  after  all,  the 
most  fitting  and  glorious.  In  God's  sight  Lincoln 
was  no  more  precious  than  the  humblest  drummer- 
boy  who  bled  away  his  young  life  on  the  sod  of 
Gettysburg  or  Chattanooga.  He  had  called  on  two 
hundred  thousand  heroes  to  lay  down  their  lives 
for  their  country  ;  and  now  he  has  gone  to  make 
his  own  grave  beside  them. 

So  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest. 

When  that  grave  on  yonder  prairie  shall  finally 
yield  up  its  dead,  glorious  will  be  his  resurrection. 
Methinks  I  behold  the  spirit  of  the  great  liberator 
in  that  judgment  scene,  before  the  assembled 
hosts  of  Heaven.  Around  him  are  the  tens  of 
thousands  from  whom  he  struck  off  the  chain. 
Methinks  I  hear  their  grateful  voices  exclaim : 
"  We  were  an  hungered,  and  thou  gavest  us  the 
bread  of  freedom  ;  we  were  thirsty  for  liberty,  and 
thou  gavest  us  drink  ;  we  were  strangers  in  the 
land  of  our  birth,  and  thou  didst  take  us  in  ;  we 
were  sick  with  two  centuries  of  sorrow,  and  thou 
didst  visit  us ;  we  were  in  the  prison-house  of 
bondage,  and  thou  earnest  to  us."  And  the  King 
shall  say  unto  him,  "  Inasmuch  as  thou  didst  it  to 
the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  then  thou  hast  done 
it  unto  me.  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant, 
enter  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord." 


248  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

cccxxx. 

0 

But  few  Americans  ever  saw  Thomas  Carlyle, 
for  he  led  a  very  secluded  and  laborious  life,  in 
his  little  brick  house  at  Chelsea,  in  the  Southwest- 
ern London,  and  he  never  kept  open  doors.  He 
had  few  intimate  friends,  and  sometimes  smoked 
a  pipe  with  Tennyson,  and  discoursed  in  a  strain 
of  high  poetry  and  rollicking  fun  beyond  anything 
in  the  Nodes  Ambrosianae.  Emerson  and  Dean 
Stanley  were  also  welcome  guests. 

During  my  college  boy  visit  to  England,  in  1842, 
I  ventured  to  call  on  Mr.  Carlyle.  Thirty  years 
afterwards,  in  June,  1872,  I  felt  a  irrepressible  de- 
sire to  see  the  grand  old  man  once  more ;  and  I 
accordingly  addressed  him  a  note,  requesting  the 
favor  of  a  few  minutes'  interview.  His  reply  was 
perhaps  the  briefest  letter  ever  written.  It  was 
simply  —  "3  p.  M.  T.  C."  He  explained  to  me 
afterward  that  his  hand  had  become  so  tremulous 
that  he  seldom  touched  a  pen. 

The  Rev.  Newman  Hall  asked  the  privilege  of 
accompanying  me,  for  like  most  Londoners,  he  had 
never  put  his  eye  on  the  recluse  philosopher.  We 
found  the  same  old  brick  dwelling,  Number  5, 
Cheyne  Row,  without  the  slightest  change,  outside 
or  in.  But  during  those  thirty  years,  the  kind 
good  wife  whom  I  had  met  in  1842  had  departed, 
and  a  sad  change  had  come  over  the  once  hale, 
stalwart  man.  After  we  had  waited  some  time,  a 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  249 

feeble,  stooping  figure,  attired  in  a  long  blue  flan- 
nel gown,  moved  slowly  into  the  room.  His  gray 
hair  was  unkempt,  his  blue  eye  was  still  keen  and 
piercing,  and  a  bright  hectic  spot  of  red  appeared 
in  each  of  his  hollow  cheeks.  His  hands  were 
tremulous,  and  his  voice  deep  and  husky.  After  a 
few  personal  inquiries,  the  old  man  launched  out 
into  a  most  extraordinary  and  characteristic  ha- 
rangue on  the  wretched  degeneracy  of  these  evil 
days.  The  prophet  Jeremiah  was  cheerfulness  it- 
self in  comparison.  Much  of  his  extraordinary 
language  was  like  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius ;  but 
the  laugh  he  occasionally  gave  showed  that  he  was 
"mandating"  about  as  much  for  his  own  amuse- 
ment as  for  ours.  He  looked  up  at  the  portrait  of 
Oliver  Cromwell  behind  him,  and  exclaimed  with 
great  vehemence,  "  I  have  gone  doon  to  the  verra 
bottom  of  Oliver's  speeches,  and  naething  in  Demos- 
thenes, or  in  any  ither  wull  compare  in  Cromwell 
in  the  piercing  into  the  veritable  core  'o  the  fact." 
We  led  him  to  speak  of  the  labor  question,  and 
the  condition  of  the  working  classes.  He  said  the 
turmoil  about  labor  was  only  a  "  lazy  trick  o'  both 
master  and  mon,  to  do  joost  as  little  honest  work 
and  get  joost  as  much  for  it  as  they  possibly  can. 
That's  the  lawbor  question."  It  did  my  heart  good 
as  a  teetotaler  to  hear  his  scathing  denunciation  of 
the  drinking  usages.  He  was  fierce  in  his  wrath 
against  the  "  horrible  and  detestable  damnation  of 
whiskey  and  ivery  kind  'o  strong  drink."  In  this 


250  BIGHT  TO  TI1E  POINT. 

strain  the  thin,  weird-looking  old  iconoclast  went 
on  for  an  hour.  We  enjoyed  it  as  a  postscript  to 
Sartor  Resartus  or  the  Latter  Day  Pamphlets,  and 
stared  and  laughed  accordingly.  Wonderful  old 
man  ! 

For  fifty  years  this  grand  piece  of  tough,  gnarled, 
honest  Scotch  timber  has  been  conspicuous.  The 
intimate  friend  of  Edward  Irving,  the  compeer 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  the  associate  of  Macaulay  and 
Brougham  in  the  Edinburgh  Review,  lived  to  be  in 
literature  what  Wellington  was  among  British  cap- 
tains. Nothing  that  ever  came  from  Carlyle's  pen 
will  live  longer  than  his  eulogy  of  Burns,  which  first 
appeared  in  the  Edinburgh  Review.  He  wrote 
it,  and  his  Life  of  Schiller,  before  he  had  trans- 
formed a  rich  and  graceful  English  into  his  inde- 
scribable Carlylese.  Nothing  like  it  has  ever  been 
fashioned  on  the  earth  or  in  the  waters  under  the 
earth.  He  was  the  last  of  the  giants  in  British 
Literature.  He  will  outlive  many  an  author  who 
slumbers  in  "  the  great  Abbey." 

Thomas  Carlyle  was  nurtured  on  the  strong 
meat  of  the  Westminster  catechism.  The  fogs  of 
German  mysticism  blew  away  as  he  drew  towards 
the  end  of  his  pilgrimage.  Some  stout,  ringing 
words  he  uttered  in  defence  of  the  faith  once  com- 
mitted to  the  saints.  Mayhap  by  this  time  he  has 
risen  to  that  clearer  clime  where  faith  is  swallowed 
up  in  sight.  For  one  I  owe  him  grateful  thanks 
for  many  stimulating  thoughts,  and  shall  always  be 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  231 

glad   that  I   grasped  the  strong  hand  of   Thomas 
Carlyle. 

CCCXXXI. 

A  dry,  withered  flower  lies  by  me,  which  I 
gathered  on  a  sweet  July  morning,  beside  the 
doorway  of  Wordsworth's  cottage  on  Rydal  Mount. 
That  cottage  is  now  a  lonely  spot.  The  venerable 
interpreter  of  nature  no  longer  leans  on  his  staff 
beneath  that  doorway.  Within  a  stone's  throw  of 
that  "Mount"  is  a  plain  tomb,  on  which  more 
than  one  moistened  eye  has  read  the  name  of 
William  Wordsworth.  ...  I  had  come  up 
from  Ambleside  to  spend  an  hour  with  him,  as  he 
always  gave  a  hearty  welcome  to  the  few  Ameri- 
cans who  wandered  in  to  his  secluded  home. 
The  cottage  was  just  what  I  expected  in  appear- 
ance, but  not  its  illustrious  occupant.  Instead  of 
a  grave,  pensive  man,  in  scholastic  black,  I  found 
a  most  affable,  smiling,  lovable  old  man,  dressed  in 
a  well-worn  coat  of  blue  (with  metal  buttons),  and 
checked  breeches,  with  a  broad-brimmed  white  hat 
lying  by  his  side.  He  looked  like  a  substantial 
farmer  just  come  in  for  his  "nooning"  ;  and  his 
greeting  had  a  broad  heartiness  in  it  that  took  me 
all  aback.  His  face  was  long  and  thin  ;  his  com- 
plexion highly  florid ;  his  hair  fell  upon  his 
shoulders,  and  over  his  half-closed  eyes  he  wore  a 
pair  of  large  green  spectacles He 


252  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

entered  at  once  into  a  genial  anu  most  familiar 
conversation,  talked  of  America  with  great  enthu- 
siasm, particularly  of  his  friend  Washington  Irving, 
and  of  Mrs.  Sigourney,  who  had  once  paid  him  a 
visit. 

For  years  he  had  hoped  to  see  our  country  for 
himself,  but  the  duties  of  a  small  office  which  he 
held,  and  on  which  he  was  partially  dependent, 
had  prevented  the  undertaking.  His  library  was 
not  large.  Had  Wordsworth  been  a  richer  man  he 
would  hardly  have  been  a  great  collector  of  books. 
When  a  visitor  once  said  to  his  servant,  "  Is  this 
your  master's  study?"  "No,  sir,"  replied  the 
man;  "my  master's  study  is  out  of  doors."  I  was 
not  surprised,  therefore,  to  hear  presently  from 
the  old  poet  an  invitation  to  walk  out  into  his 
grounds,  and  see  the  neighboring  views.  As  we 
moved  about  through  the  well-trimmed  walks,  he 
talked  on  with  the  most  lively  enthusiasm.  "Yon- 
der is  Rydal  Water."  And  there  it  lay,  a  mere 
shellful  of  water,  environed  round  by  bold,  tower- 
ing hills.  In  front,  over  the  steeple  of  the  parish 
church,  was  Grasmere,  the  lake  along  whose  beach 
Coleridge  was  wont  to  wander,  and  beside  which 
he  composed  the  Ancient  Mariner."  Beyond  was 
Helvellyn,  the  mountain  king,  with  his  retinue  of 
a  hundred  hills,  and  at  his  feet  lay  Robert  Southey. 
Of  all  these  scenes,  and  the  great  men  who  had 
haunted  them  during  years  gone  by,  the  aged  man 
talked  on  until  we  reached  again  his  cottage  door. 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  253 

He  then  bade  me  farewell,  with  a  parting  "  God 
bless  you!"  I  pulled  this  little  flower  (then  fresh 
and  bright),  and  turned  slowly  away  from  Rydal 
Mount. 

CCCXXXII. 

The  crowd  in  the  Abbey  was  prodigious.  Many 
of  the  guests  climbed  on  the  monuments,  to  wit- 
ness the  ceremonies.  After  long  and  patient 
waiting,  we  heard  the  funeral  anthem  sounding 
through  the  nave,  and  presently  the  procession 
entered.  It  contained  the  foremost  living  men  of 
England.  The  heir  to  the  throne  marched  in  and 
occupied  the  pew  of  his  old  tutor,  who  was  lying 
in  the  coffin  before  him  Upon  the  coffin  were 
wreaths  of  "  immortelles,"  and  white  flowers  from 
the  Westminster  schoolboys,  and  a  handful  of 
Chinese  roses  from  the  Queen  herself.  The  ven- 
erable Archbishop  of  Canterbury  was  in  line, 
Lord  Shaftesbury,  and  Lord  Houghton,  and  Tyn- 
dall,  and  Browning,  and  the  Bishop  of  Peterbor- 
ough. The  coffin  was  borne  by  the  same  hands 
that  had  carried  the  Dean's  beloved  wife,  Lady 
Augusta,  to  her  burial,  in  Henry  the  Seventh's 
Chapel.  It  was  set  down  before  the  pulpit  in 
which  the  Dean  had  stood  a  few  days  before.  By 
the  foot  of  the  coffin,  the  most  conspicuous  figure 
was  William  E.  Gladstone. 

The  funeral  music  to-day  was  solemn  and  sub- 


254  BIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

lime.  Its  rich  strains  swelled  and  rolled  among 
the  lofty  arches  with  prodigious  grandeur.  Then 
the  deep  tones  of  the  Dead  March  were  heard, 
and  the  procession  formed  again.  The  body  of 
Arthur  Stanley  was  taken  up  and  tenderly  carried 
over  those  historic  stones  which  he  himself  had 
trodden  so  often  and  so  long.  He  was  to  be  laid 
among  the  great,  in  his  death.  With  slow  and 
measured  tread  they  bore  him  past  the  tomb  of 
Dryden.  Old  Spenser,  and  Ben  Jonson,  and  the 
author  of  the  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard^  were 
sleeping  close  by.  A  little  further  on,  they 
passed  the  tomb  of  Edward  the  Confessor.  The 
heir  to  the  Confessor's  throne  was  in  the  proces- 
sion, and  the  descendants  too  of  many  a  great 
warrior  who  lay  in  silent  stone  effigy  on  those 
monuments.  Gradually  the  line  passed  on  and  on 
among  the  columns,  until  it  entered  the  door  of 
Henry  the  Seventh's  Chapel  and  disappeared  from 
my  view. 

CCCXXXIII. 

Carlton  House  Terrace  is  one  of  the  historic 
spots  in  London.  It  is  a  long,  stately  row  of  man- 
sions flanking  St.  James  Park.  At  the  foot  of 
broad  Waterloo  Place  stands  the  lofty  column  to 
the  Duke  of  York.  As  he  died  heavily  in  debt, 
the  wags  say  "  The  Duke  was  put  up  on  top  of 
the  column  to  get  him  out  of  the  reach  of  his  credi- 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POI^T.  255 

tors."  In  the  second  or  third  house  from  the 
monument  resides  Britain's  ruler,  the  Premier 
Gladstone.  Technically,  the  ruler  of  the  realm 
dwells  in  Windsor  Palace.  But  Major  Jack  Down- 
ing tells  us  that  when  General  Jackson — on  his 
visit  to  Downingville  — got  tired  of  shaking  hands 
with  the  crowd,  he  (the  Major)  hid  behind  him, 
and  poking  his  arm  under  old  Hickory's  shoulder, 
he  "  shuck  hands  for  the  Gineral."  So  the  hand  of 
royalty  in  England  is  really  the  hand  of  William 
E.  Gladstone  slipped  under  the  regal  robes.  I 
had  the  honor  of  two  very  delightful  interviews 
with  the  Premier  last  summer.  As  the  "  Alabama 
question"  was  just  at  its  most  exciting  point,  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  quite  ready  to  converse  freely  with 
any  American  who  was  supposed  to  be  familiar  with 
the  state  of  public  sentiment  on  this  side  of  the 
water.  He  very  kindly  invited  me  to  visit  him. 
He  received  me  with  cordial  freedom,  and  in  the 
half-hour's  chat  he  opened  his  mind  to  me  with 
that  transparent  sincerity  which  belongs  to  the 
character  of  a  Christian  statesman.  As  I  rose  to 
leave,  saying  to  him,  "  Your  time  belongs  to  the 
British  Empire  and  not  to  an  American  traveller," 
he  very  cordially  said,  "  Come  and  breakfast  with 
me  on  Thursday."  Breakfast  is  the  familiar  meal 
in  English  home-life,  as  "tea-drinking"  is  with 
us.  I  went  at  ten  o'clock  on  a  June  morning,  and 
found  the  Premier  standing  out  on  his  rear  bal- 
cony, overlooking  cool,  verdant  St.  James  Park. 


258  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

Mr.  Gladstone  is  in  excellent  preservation ;  his 
walk  is  alert,  and  his  broad  shoulders  have  never 
stooped  under  the  load  of  official  responsibilities. 
One  secret  of  his  vigorous  health  is  that  he  is  a 
capital  sleeper.  "I  never,"  said  he  to  me,  "allow 
the  cares  of  State  to  get  inside  of  my  bed-chamber 
door."  He  says  that  he  does  not  remember  that 
he  was  ever  kept  awake  for  half  an  hour  by  anxiety 
but  once.  And  that  was  at  the  country-seat  of  his 
brother-in-law,  Lord  Lyttetton,  where  he  had  been 
chopping  down  a  tree  just  at  twilight.  He  did 
not  quite  finish  the  job,  and  the  fear  that  the  tree 
might  blow  down  before  morning  worried  him  out 
of  a  little  sleep.  I  am  afraid  that  President  Lin- 
coln knew  but  little  of  such  quiet  slumbers  during 
his  stormy  administration. 

At  the  breakfast-table  of  Mr.  Gladstone  I  met 
the  venerable  Dean  Ramsay,  of  Edinburgh,  and  the 
Rev.  Newman  Hall,  who  is  on  quite  intimate  terms 
of  friendship  with  the  Premier.  Mrs.  Gladstone  — 
who  was  the  daughter  of  a  substantial  country 
gentleman,  and  with  whom  Mr.  Gladstone  fell  in 
love  in  his  student  days  —  is  a  warm-hearted  lady, 
whose  beauty  of  character  and  manners  surpass 
her  beauty  of  person.  She  is  an  untiring  worker 
in  several  schemes  of  active  philanthropy.  A  son 
was  at  the  table,  and  a  noble-looking  daughter.  An- 
other son  is  in  the  Church  of  England  pulpit. 
And  what  a  charming  hour  of  chat  was  that  at  the 
Prime  Minister's  breakfast !  A  package  of  private 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  257 

despatches  from  the  Geneva  Arbitrators  was  quietly 
laid  aside  unopened  until  the  coffee  and  toast  and 
strawberries  were  disposed  of.  The  Presidential 
campaign  in  America  seemed  to  interest  Mr.  Glad- 
stone deeply,  and  he  inquired,  "  Have  you  read 
Mr.  Sumner's  speech  against  the  President  ?  It 
is  an  extraordinary  speech.  If  his  charges  are 
unjust,  they  ought  never  to  have  been  made.  ,  If 
they  are  just,  it  seems  to  me  that  impeachment  is 
inevitable.  It  would  be  thought  so  here.  We  do 
not  quite  understanj  "our  freedom  o*  Congres- 
sional criticisms." 

But  politics  were  soon  ruled  out  for  a  playful 
discussion  of  American  humor,  especially  of  the 
negro  type.  Mr.  Gladstone  enjoyed  hugely  some 
stories  of  plantation  preaching,  and  said  afterwards 
that  he  had  not  laughed  so  heartily  in  many  a 
day.  Negro  wit  (like  negro  music)  is  so  indigenous 
to  our  soil  that  it  is  fresher  to  foreign  ears  than  to 
our  own.  As  the  hour  came  for  a  morning  ses- 
sion of  Parliament,  we  withdrew.  Mr.  Gladstone's 
last  words  to  me  were,  "  I  cannot  tell  what  Provi- 
dence may  order,  but  no  power  on  earth  can  hinder 
the  peaceful  settlement  of  our  controversy  with 
your  country,  and  the  complete  triumph  of  the 
treaty."  He  was  a  true  prophet.  And  let  us 
rejoice  that  during  all  that  long  controversy,  the 
sagacious  brain,  and  the  noble  Christian  heart  of 
William  E.  Gladstone,  guided  the  diplomacy  of  the 
British  Empire. 


258  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT 

CCCXXXIV. 

Switzerland  is  the  land  for  sublimity  ;  the  Tyrol 
for  a  beauty  that  bewitches,  but  seldom  overawes. 

Nature  has  done  wonders  for  the  English  land- 
scapes, and  art  has  wrought  in  harmony.  Here  an 
old  Gothic  church  lifts  its  tower  amid  the  oaks  ; 
there  an  Elizabethan  mansion  heads  an  ascending 
lawn;  there  a  graceful  bridge  of  stone  arches  some 
clear  silvery  Avon,  or  Dee,  or  Trent  ;  even  if  a  cot- 
tage be  two  centuries  old  it  wears  its  thatched 
crown  gracefully.  To  this  perfect:on  of  rural 
loveliness  our  mother-country  has  arrived  after 
twenty  generations  have  expended  their  utmost  toil, 
and  taste,  and  skill. 

cccxxxv. 

I  expected  to  find  Gethsemane  desolate  and 
neglected.  Instead  of  that  I  found  it  in  beautiful 
order,  with  an  elegant  inner  iron  railing,  and  laid 
out  in  tasteful  flower-beds.  Alongside  of  the 
ancient  olive-trees  —  many  hundreds  of  years  old 
—  grow  a  profusion  of  roses,  carnations,  marigolds, 
heliotropes,  and  many  varieties  of  fragrant  plants. 
This  adorning  of  the  scene  of  my  blessed  Saviour's 
agony  was  grateful  to  me.  Why  not  ?  Did  he 
not  bear  the  grief  that  we  might  taste  the  sweet- 
ness of  the  blessing  of  redemption  ?  I  rejoiced 
to  see  these  fragrcint  tributes  blooming  so  thick, 


EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  259 

and  rich,  and  beautiful,  as  tokens  of  the  heavenly 
hopes  that  have  sprung  up  from  Gethsemane's  soil 
once  steeped  in  tears. 

CCCXXXVI. 

When  Pericles  had  seen  the  last  frieze  placed  on 
the  Parthenon,  and  the  last  exquisite  moulding 
carved  around  the  doorway  of  the  Erectheum,  he 
had  seen  the  consummate  perfection  of  all  that  man 
can  accomplish  in  the  horizontal  styles  of  architec- 
ture. Since  that  time  the  world  has  seen  the  per- 
pendicular in  its  perfection  in  many  a  Gothic 
cathedral,  but  not  one  new  idea  has  been  added  to  the 
Doric  and  the  Ionic  in  three  and  twenty  centuries. 
That  marvellous  sense  of  beauty  which  the  Greeks 
of  that  age  possessed,  wrought  itself  out  in  every- 
thing it  touched. 

All  the  finest  Ionic  structure  in  the  world  for 
the  last  two  thousand  years  have  been  only  the 
copies  of  what  those  Greek  wonder-workers  wrought 
on  that  end  of  that  little  Erectheum  with  a  single 
decade.  They  struck  perfection  at  once,  and 
all  subsequent  generations  have  done  nothing  but 
try  to  imitate  their  handiwork, 

CCCXXXVII. 

Last  Tuesday  I  climbed  Mount  Pentelicus,  and 
from  its  summit  looked  right  down  on  the  famous 


260  EIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

battle-field  of  Marathon.  It  is  as  smooth  as  a  race- 
course and  so  small  that  Miltiades  with  his  ten 
thousand  Athenians  could  cover  the  whole  front 
against  ten  times  as  many  Persians.  On  my  way 
I  rode  through  groves  of  classic  olive  and  pine,  and 
green  vineyards.  It  seemed  as  if  I  might  meet 
Sophocles  going  out  to  meditate  a  new  tragedy,  or 
Anacreon  to  compose  a  new  song  for  the  vine- 
dressers. The  air  was  instinct  with  the  memories 
and  glories  of  the  past.  This  little  land  of  Attica 
once  ruled  the  world  with  its  genius.  On  the 
ruins  of  that  wonderful  commonwealth  —  after 
long,  dark  centuries  of  ignorance  and  obscurity  — 
a  new  Athens  and  a  new  Greece  have  sprung  up. 
No  land  on  the  continent  of  Europe  has  a  stronger 
claim  on  our  hearts,  or  excites  a  more  thrilling 
hope  for  its  future  than  the  land  in  which  Pericles 
builded,  and  Plato  thought,  and  Phidias  carved, 
and  Paul  proclaimed  the  Gospel  of  eternal  life. 

CCCXXXVIII. 

It  will  a  Iways  remain  an  enigma  that  within 
a  single  century  Grecian  art  and  philosophy 
should  have  flowed  out  in  the  most  consummate  of 
their  productions  of  genius  and  then  straightway 
ceased  to  bloom  again  !  All  the  greatest  achieve- 
ments of  Athincan  brains  were  wrought  between 
the  battles  of  Marathon  and  Cheronea,  and  that 
space  does  not  cover  more  than  the  lives  of  a 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  261 

father  and  son,  provided  that  they  both  lived 
seventy  years.  The  only  answer  to  this  problem 
is  that  it  seems  to  be  God's  plan  to  illuminate  this 
world  not  by.  single  stars,  but  by  constellations. 

CCCXXXIX. 

The  melancholy  air  of  decay  which  lingers  about 
the  deserted  palaces  of  what  was  once  the  splendid 
Queen  of  the  Adriatic,  always  saddens  me  in  Venice. 
When  the  novelty  of  paddling  in  a  gondola  through 
the  watery  ways  and  close  by  the  doorsteps  of  old 
musty  mansions  is  over,  then  the  city  becomes 
just  a  trifle  monotonous.  The  first  day  is  a  delight 
and  a  marvel ;  the  treasures  of  the  Doge's  palace 
and  of  ancient  St.  Mark  are  unsurpassed  ;  after 
that  Venice  has  no  picturesque  scenes  like  Cairo, 
and  no  sublime  memories  to  feed  on  like  Jerusalem. 

CCCXL. 

As  I  passed  through  the  very  heart  of  England, 
on  my  way  from  Hull,  I  could  but  think  how  rich 
had  been  the  mental  and  spiritual  harvests  gathered 
from  those  old  historic  fields !  Nearly  every  town 
has  placed  books  in  our  libraries,  or  in  some  way 
enriched  our  memories.  When  I  read  the  name 
of  "  Kettering  "  on  the  station-sign,  I  thought  of 
old  Andrew  Fuller's  eight  volumes  of  solid  theology. 
Northampton  suggested  Doddridge  and  his  Rise 


262  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

and  Progress.  At  Bedford  I  was  in  the  birthplace 
of  both  John  Howard  and  the  "  Pilgrim  "  of  John 
Bunyan.  Not  far  away  were  the  green  fields  where 
Cowper  mused  over  the  "Task"  and  "  Olney 
Hymns."  Robert  Hall,  Lord  Macaulay,  Marvell, 
and  Kirke  White  had  all  been  born  and  reared  in 
the  region  through  which  we  ran  ;  and  from  amid 
the  smoke  of  Sheffield  had  come  forth  the  musical 
notes  of  Elliott  and  Montgomery.  All  these  mem- 
ories added  new  charms  to  the  landscape  that 
smiled  under  the  summer  sun. 

CCCXLI. 

The  American  Republic  is  making  a  prodigious 
impression  upon  the  older  continents.  It  is  not 
merely  the  coming  nation  ;  it  has  come  /'.-.. 

It  is  not  a  matter  for  empty  boasting, 

but  it  is  a  matter  of  momentous  responsibilty  to 
be  an  American  citizen  and  to  bear  even  the  hum- 
blest part  in  shaping  its  moral  destiny. 

CCCXLII. 

Yesterday  was  a  day  of  enchantment.  We  took  a 
walk  about  Zion  ;  we  gazed  over  at  the  mountains 
of  Moab ;  we  caught  our  first  view  of  sacred  Geth- 
semane.  We  stood  by  "Robinson's  Arch,"  and 
strolled  among  the  ruined  walls  of  the  old  rallying 
place  of  the  Knights  Templars.  We  threaded  the 


RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT.  263 

narrow  streets  and  studied  the  picturesque  crowds 
that  reproduced  the  days  of  Solomon  and  the  days 
of  Godfrey  of  Bouilon.  In  one  respect  Jerusalem 
has  suffered  great  injustice.  Most  tourists  describe 
it  as  surrounded  by  wild,  bleak  desolation.  I 
expected  to  see  only  mountains  of  glaring  white 
limestone.  But  these  travellers  came  at  thewron^ 
season  of  the  year.  April  is  the  summer  of  Pales- 
tine ;  although  the  air  yesterday  was  delightfully 
cool.  As  I  stood  on  Mount  Zion,  the  Hill  of  Evil 
Counsel  and  the  mountains  toward  Bethlehem  were 
clothed  with  verdure.  The  gardens  under  Moriah 
were  bright  with  flowers.  Olivet  was  green,  except 
for  the  white  Jewish  tombs  on  its  southern  end. 
Scarlet  poppies  flamed  among  the  stones  of  the 
ancient  walls.  When  we  went  out  of  the  Damascus 
gate,  and  stood  on  the  low  hill  which  many  regard 
as  the  true  site  of  Calvary,  the  whole  country 
towards  Samaria  was  luxuriant  with  waving  barley 
and  with  olive-orchards. 

So  must  it  have  looked  when  the  blessed  Master 
led  his  disciples  among  those  very  fields,  and  went 
towards  Galilee.  So  must  the  land  have  smiled 
when  over  all  its  terraced  hills  and  among  its  rich 
valleys,  it  supported  a  population  as  teeming  as  the 
population  of  Egypt  to-day.  I  thank  God  I  have 
seen  his  goodly  land  of  Canaan,  not  dreary  and 
desolate  as  I  feared,  but  arrayed  in  the  bright 
robes  of  summer,  and  with  these  everlasting  hills 
wearing  a  verdant  crown  of  beauty. 


264  RIGHT  TO  THE  POINT. 

CCCXLIII. 

It    is   a    striking    coincidence   that   the   finest 
hymns  in  the  English  language  should  have  been 
composed  in  those  southern  counties  that  stretch 
along  the  Channel.     Toplady  wrote  the  Rock  of 
Ages,  and    Charlotte  Elliot  her  hymn,  Just  as  I 
am,  in  Devonshire.     Henry  Lyte,  the   author  of 
Abide  with  Me,  lived  in  the  same  county.     Charles 
Wesley  gave  birth  to  Jesus,  Lover  of  my  Soul,  and 
Perronet  to  the  hymn,  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus, 
Name,  in  that  poetic  belt  of  the  south  of  England. 
Isaac  Watts  penned  his  first  hymn  at  Southampton, 
opposite  to  the  Isle  of  Wight. 


INDEX. 

Affliction,  Discipline  of  CCXCIL-CCCXII.         .        .  227-35 

Aspiration,  XXIII.-IX 32-8 

Atonement,  The  LV.-LXI 54-8 

Bible,  The  X.-XXIII 23-32 

Character,  Christian  CLVII.-LXXXVL    .        .        .  119-43 

Church,  The  CXLIIL-XLIX.      .....  110-14 

Conversion,  CV.-XXI _.  86-97 

Communion  with  Christ,  CCXCVII.-CCCH.    .        .  228-30 

Cheerfulness,  CCXXI.-XXVI 174-78 

Childhood,  CCLXXVI.-LXXIX 216-18 

Christ  the  Redeemer,  CCLVIII.-LXVIII.          .        .  204-11 

Education,  Home  CCXL-XIV.    .       .        .        .        .  169-71 

Eloquence,  VI.-X 17-23 

Faith,  LXXIX.-XCVII 69-82 

Holiness,  CXXI.-XXVI 97-102 

Heart,  The  CCII.-IV 162-63 

Heaven,  CCCXXI.-XXIX.          .  *     .        .        .        .  240-46 

Humility,  CCXIV.-XXL 171-74 

Intellect,  III.-VI 14-17 

Joy,  CCCXII.-XVII 235-38 

Law,  God's  CCXLVII.-LVIII 195-204 

Love,  CXCVI.-CCII 153-62 


INDEX. 

Memory,  CCCXIX.-XXI 239-40 

Obedience,  XCVII.-CIV 82-5 

Providence,  God's  CCLXX.-LXXVI.         .        .        .  212-16 

Philanthrophy,  CCXLII.-XLXII 191-95 

Pulpit,  The  XXIX.-LV 38-54 

Prayer,  CXXX.-XLI11 104-10 

Profession  and  Professors,  CLXXXVI.-XCII.  .        .  143-50 

Religion,  CXLIX.-LVII.     .  ' 114-19 

Repentance,  LXIX.-LXXIX. 62-69 

Recreation,  CCXXXI.-XXXV 182-85 

Reminiscences,  CCCXXIX.-XXXIY.         .        .        .  246-58 

Revivals,  CCV.-X.        .                        .        .        .       ,  166-68 

Sin,  LXI.-LXIX.  .        . 58-62 

Sacrifice,  Self  CXCII.-XCV 150-52 

Salvation,  CXXVI.-XXX.  . 102-04 

Sympathy,  CCLXVIII.-LXX 211-12 

Singing,  CCXXVI.-XXXI. 178-82 

Sketches,  CCCXXXIV.-XLIII.  .        .        .       -.        .  258-64 

Thought,  I.-III. 13-14 

Temperance,  CCXXXV.-XLII 185-91 

Work,  Christian  CCLXXVIIl.-XCII.        .        .        .  218-27 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS. 


THE  LORD'S  PURSEBEARERS.  By  Hesba  Stretton. 
Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price  $1.25.  The  name  of 
Hesba  Stretton  is  too  well  known  in  English  literature 
to  render  it  necessary  to  make  special  commendation  of 
any  work  from  her  pen.  No  writer  of  religious  fiction 
stands  higher  in  England,  and  there  is  not  a  Sunday-school 
library  where  some  one  of  her  volumes  may  not  be  found. 
She  has  the  faculty  of  entertaining  and  instructing  at  the 
same  time.  The  present  publishers  have  made  special 
arrangements  with  her  for  the  production  in  this  country 
of  her  latest  work,  and  the  probabilities  are  that  all  her 
future  books  will  bear  their  imprint.  In  The  Lord's 
Pursebearers  the  author  draws  a  terrible  picture  of  life 
among  the  vicious  poor  in  London  streets,  and  shows 
by  what  shifts  the  professional  beggars  and  thieves  of 
the  great  Babylon  manage  to  live  and  thrive  on  the  mis- 
placed charity  of  the  pitying  well-to-do  population.  She 
arouses  a  strong  feeling  of  sympathy  for  the  children  who 
are  bred  in  the  haunts  of  vice,  and  who  are  instructed 
in  crime  before  they  are  old  enough  to  know  the  meaning 
of  the  word.  The  story  is  one  of  intense  interest,  and 
the  characters,  especially  those  of  old  Isaac  Chippendell, 
his  granddaughter  Joan,  and  little  Lucky,  are  forcibly 
drawn.  One  can  hardly  believe  that  such  places  exist 
or  that  such  deeds  are  perpetrated  as  are  here  described, 
but  one  who  is  familiar  with  London  and  its  streets  knows 
that  they  are  no  exaggerations.  The  volume  is  illustrated. 


THE  AFTERGLOW  OF  EUROPEAN  TRAVEL.  By  Adelaide 
L.  Harrington.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price  $1.50. 
This  pleasant  record  of  experiences  abroad  will  delight  those 
who  have  gone  over  the  same  ground,  as  well  as  those  who 
have  never  strayed  beyond  the  bounds  of  their  own  country. 
It  is  not  a  connected  story  of  travel,  but  consists  of  reminis- 
cences and  descriptions  of  various  spots  and  objects  which 
made  the  deepest  and  most  lasting  impression  upon  the 
writer. 


OUR    BOOK     TABLE. 

POOR  PAPA.  By  Mary  W.  Porter.  Illustrated.  Boston: 
D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Paper  covers,  50  cents.  Of  all  the  lately 
published  books  in  which  children  bear  a  principal  part, 
one  of  the  most  natural  and  charming  is  Poor  Papa.  It 
breathes  the  very  spirit  of  childhood,  and  one  is  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  author  must  have  drawn  her  characters  from 
living  models.  Few  writers  have  the  faculty  of  describing 
children  as  they  are,  and  many  of  the  so-called  "juvenile  " 
books  published  are  dreary  failures  simply  because  their 
writers  have  no  sympathy  with  their  subjects.  The  children 
whom  Miss  Porter  describes  are  genuine  children  and  not 
make-believe.  They  have  all  the  indescribable  ways  and 
peculiarities  that  make  little  people  oftentimes  riddles  to 
their  elders.  Their  journey  abroad  with  "  Poor  Papa,"  who 
comes  all  the  way  over  the  ocean  for  them,  their  adventures, 
their  quaint  observations  on  what  they  see  and  hear,  their 
thorough  enjoyment  of  everything,  the  comical  surprises 
they  are  continually  giving  those  around  them,  are  delight- 
fully set  forth,  and  will  be  as  fascinating  reading  for  the 
older  as  for  the  younger  ones. 

"Poor  Papa"  is  sure  to  be  a  favorite.  It  is  a  graphic 
story  of  the  perplexities  of  a  father,  left  a  widower,  to  care 
for  two  children.  The  father  is  an  artist,  absorbed  in  paint- 
ing, and  having  no  knowledge  of  child-nature;  while  his  two 
children,  loving  and  true,  are  like  young  colts,  with  irrepres- 
sible life  and  spirits,  and  perpetually  in  trouble.  They  have 
many  amusing  adventures  in  Italy,  from  their  rollicking  love 
of  freedom  and  fun,  and  barely  escape  with  life  from  a 
governess,  whose  martinet  habits  transform  her  into  an  ogre, 
delighting  in  torture.  But  the  troubles  of  papa  and  children 
find  a  happy  solution  in  the  advent  of  a  new  mamma,  the 
sister  of  a  brother  artist,  whose  fine  womanly  instincts  have 
helped  the  children  already  over  many  a  hard  place.  Sum- 
mer travellers  will  have  many  a  hearty  laugh  over  the  vol- 
ume, and  enjoy  equally  the  humor  of  the  children  and  the 
perplexities  of  "Papa." 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS. 


ORIGINALITY.  By  Elias  Nason.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  & 
Co.  Price  $.50.  Mr.  Nason  has  here  made  a  reply  to 
Wendell  Phillips'  "Lost  Arts,"  which  is  well  worth  read- 
ing for  its  point  and  suggestiveness.  He  endeavors  to  show 
the  meaning  of  the  word,  and  what  important  results  have 
come  from  the  originating  powers  of  a  few  bright  men  since 
the  beginning  of  civilization.  He  takes  up,  one  by  one,  the 
points  made  by  Mr.  Phillips  in  his  famous  lectnre,  and  shows 
on  what  slight  grounds  they  rest,  and  of  how  little  weight 
they  really  are  when  examined  and  analyzed.  Mr.  Nason 
does  not  believe  that  any  of  the  useful  arts  have  been  lost. 
The  ancients  had  few  to  lose.  They  made  glass,  but  they 
did  not  know  how  to  use  it.  They  could  embalm  dead 
bodies;  but  of  what  use  were  embalmed  dead  bodies  ?  They 
had  some  knowledge  of  mathematics,  but  a  school-boy's 
arithmetic  to-day  contains  more  mathematical  knowledge 
than  has  come  out  of  all  the  exhumed  cities  of  the  Orient. 
There  were  more  marvels  of  art  displayed  at  the  Centennial 
exhibition  than  in  the  ancient  world  for  twenty  centuries. 
Mr.  Nason  insists  that  the  sesthetical  productions  of  the 
ancients  have  been  vastly  over-estimated.  The  periods  of 
Demosthenes,"  he  says,  "  yield  in  Titanic  force  to  the 
double-compact  sentences  of  Daniel  Webster.  Mr.  Phillips 
himself  has  sometimes  spoken  more  eloquently  than  Cicero. 
Homer  never  rises  to  the  sublimity  of  John  Milton."  The 
world  grows  wiser  and  better.  Age  by  age,  it  has  been  de- 
veloping its  resources  and  adding  pearl  to  pearl  to  the  diadem 
of  its  wisdom ;  sometimes  slower,  sometimes  quicker,  but 
always  upward  and  onward.  Mr.  Nason  writes  in  a  fresh 
and  sparkling  style,  and  the  thousands  who  have  listened 
witli  rapt  attention  to  Mr.  Phillips'  eloquent  presentation  of 
his  side  of  the  question  will  find  equal  pleasure  and  greater 
profit  in  reading  this  charming  essay,  which  is  equally  elo- 
quent and  unquestionably  sounder  in  its  conclusions. 

THE  LIFE  AND  WRITINGS  OF  CHARLES  DICKENS.  By 
Phebe  A.  Hanaford.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price 
$1.50.  A  life  of  Dickens,  written  by  a  popular  author 
and  upon  a  new  plan,  will  be  sure  to  meet  with  favor  at  the 
hands  of  the  public.  Mrs.  Hanaford  has  not  attempted  to 
write  a  critical  and  original  analysis  of  the  great  author 
from  her  own  point  of  view,  but,  while  sketching  the  main 
incidents  of  his  life,  has  quoted  liberally  from  his  works  to 
illustrate  his  genius,  and  from  the  correspondence  and 
writings  of  his  personal  friends  to  show  the  estimation  in 
which  lie  was  held  by  them  as  a  man,  a  philanthropist  and 
a  Christian.  The  volume  commends  itself  to  every  lover  of 
Dickens,  and  deserves  to  be  widely  known  and  read. 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS. 


YENSIE  WALTON'S  WOMANHOOD.  By  Mrs.  S.  R.  Graham 
Clark.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price  $1.50.  Nine  out 
of  ten  Sunday-school  scholars  have  read  Yensie  Walton,  one 
of  the  best  and  most  interesting  books  that  ever  went  into  a 
Sunday-school  library.  The  present  volume  introduces 
Yensie  in  a  new  home  and  under  new  conditions.  She 
enters  the  family  of  a  friend  as  an  instructor  of  the  younger 
members,  and  the  narrative  of  her  experiences  will  especially 
interest  those  who  have  to  do  with  the  moral  and  mental 
training  of  children.  The  author  shows  that  all  children 
are  not  made  after  the  same  pattern,  and  that  one  line  of 
treatment  is  not  of  universal  application.  In  one  of  her 
pupils,  a  boy  of  brilliant  mental  endowments,  whose  mind 
has  become  embittered  because  of  a  physical  deformity, 
Yensie  finds  much  to  interest  as  well  as  to  discourage  her. 
She  perseveres,  however,  and  by  studying  his  character 
carefully  and  working  upon  him  from  the  right  side,  she 
gradually  works  a  change  in  his  disposition  and  brings  his 
better  qualities  into  active  exercise.  This  is  scarcely  accom- 
plished when  a  call  from  Valley  Farm  reaches  her.  Ever 
prompt  to  do  duty's  bidding,  Yensie  quits  this  happy  home 
for  the  sterner  requirements  of  her  uncle's  family,  where 
she  labored  with  unflagging  interest  and  determination  until 
that  izuch-loved  relative  says  his  last  good-by.  It  is  then 
that  the  hitherto  silenced  wooer  refuses  to  be  longer  quiet, 
aud  our  heroine  goes  out  from  the  old  red  farm-house  to  her 
wedded  home,  where  as  a  wife  and  mother  she  makes  duty 
paramount  to  pleasure,  and  every  circumstance  of  life  is 
met  with  that  same  fortitude  characteristic  of  the  Yensie 
Walton  you  so  much  admire.  Besides  the  characters  with 
which  the  reader  is  already  familiar  through  the  former 
work,  others  are  introduced  which  are  equally  well  drawn, 
and  which  serve  to  round  out  the  story  to  completeness. 

THE  MOTHER'S  RECORD  OF  THE  MENTAL,  MORAL  AND 
PHYSICA:.  LIFE  OF  HER  CHILD.  Boston :  D.  Lothrop  &  Co. 
Quarto,  $1.00.  This  work  is  valuable  as  it  is  unique.  It  is 
prepared  by  a  Massachusetts  woman,  and  though  originally 
intended  for  her  own  benefit,  has  been  published  for  the 
help  of  mothers  everywhere.  It  is  intended  for  a  yearly 
chronicle  of  the  child's  growth  and  development,  mental 
and  physical,  and  will  be  an  important  aid  to  mothers  \vlio 
devote  themselves  to  conscientious  training  of  their  little 
ones. 


NEW  PUBLICATIONS- 


THE  OLD  OAKEN  BUCKET.  By  Samuel  Woodworth. 
Quarto  Holiday  edition.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price 
$1.50.  Of  all  the  illustrated  quarto  presentation  books  yet 
issued,  this  is  by  all  odds  the  most  artistic  and  tasteful.  The 
art  of  the  designer,  engraver  and  printer  has  in  turn  been 
exhausted  to  bring  it  as  near  perfection  as  possible.  The 
drawings  are  from  the  skilful  pencil  of  Miss  Humphrey,  and 
represent  her  best  work.  The  engraving  is  by  W.  N.  Clos- 
son,  whose  reputation  in  that  line  is  equal  to  that  of  any 
other  man  in  the  country,  and  the  printing  is  from  new 
type  on  heavy  paper  with  broad  margins  and  gilt  edges,  In 
general  style  and  binding  the  volume  is  uniform  with  The 
Ninety  and  Nine,  Drifting,  etc. 

THE  STOBT  OP  FOUR  ACORNS.  By  Alice  B.  Engle.  111. 
Boston :  D.  Lothrop  &  Co.  Price  $1.00.  Children  who  like 
fairy  stories  Till  find  in  this  handsome  volume  a  fountain  of 
delight.  The  author  possesses  rare  talent  for  interesting  the 
young,  and  has  here  turned  it  to  the  best  advantage.  She 
has  furnished  a  fascinating  story,  and  has  ingeniously 
woven  into  it  bits  of  poetry  and  song  from  famous  authors 
which  will  find  easy  entrance  into  the  mind  and  create  an 
appetite  for  more.  The  illustrations  are  among  Miss  Lath- 
bury's  best,  and  do  their  part  toward  making  the  volume 
attractive. 

A  capital  idea  is  represented  in  the  new  book,  Historic 
Pictures,  suggested  by  the  success  of  last  season's  volume, 
Write  Your  Oion  Stories.  It  consists  of  a  collection  of  pict- 
ures illustrating  places  and  events  of  historic  interest, 
thirty  in  number,  with  three  blank  pages  after  each  picture, 
which  are  to  be  utilized  by  the  boys  and  girls  in  writing  an 
accoimt  of  the  incidents  which  have  made  the  various  places 
famous.  The  publishers  offer  a  series  of  cash  prizes  for 
competitors,  the  lists  to  remain  open  until  July  1,  1882. 
The  one  who  sends  the  best  series  of  stories  or  historical 
descriptions  of  the  pictures,  will  receive  $25.00  ;  the  author 
of  the  second  best,  $15.00,  and  the  third  in  point  of  excel- 
lence, $10.00. 


BOOK    NOTICES. 


Walks  to  Etmnaus.  By  the  late  Rev.  Nehemiah  Adam-* 
D.  D.  Edited  by  his  son,  Rev.  William  H.  Adams.  First- 
series.  January-February.  Boston:  D.  Lothrop  &  Co. 
12mo.  pp  360.  Price,  $1.00. 

"  This  is  the  first  volume  of  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
promising  homiletical  works  of  the  age.  It  will  embrace 
two  sermons  for  every  Sabbath  of  an  entire  year.  It  is  "  a 
Christian  year,"  yet  not  confined  to  the  liturgy  of  any  single 
denomination  of  Christians,  but  aiming  to  include  within 
this  compass  one  discourse  on  each  topic  of  ordinary  pasto- 
rial  use,  or  the  needs  of  the  religious  reader.  It  is  adapted 
for  the  vacant  pulpit,  the  sick  room,  and  the  private  library. 

It  is  agreed  that  no  modern  writer  is  better  suited  to  all 
classes  and  capacities  than  Dr.  Adams.  Encomiums  of  his 

extensively  circulated  religious  publications,  "  The  Friends  of 
Christ,"  "Christ  a  Friend,"  "Communion  Sabbath,"  "  Cath- 
arine," "  At  Eventide,"  &c.,  &c.  Have  justified  this  selec 
tion  of  more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  sermons  from  the 
forty  years'  ministry  of  Rev.  Dr.  Adams,  with  the  hope  c\ 
their  wide  circulation  among  all  religious  denominations. 
Each  of  the  six  volumes  now  in  preparation,  to  be  issued 
every  year  or  two,  will  be  complete  in  itself  although  form- 
ing a  part  of  this  work  designed  as  "one  years  discourses." 
For,  one  of  the  "  fifth  sabbath  sermons  "  may  be  employed 
instead  of  one  for  a  special  occasion,  for  example  "a  new- 
year's  discourse."  Every  evangelical  minister,  theological 
student,  and  household  should  possess  this  crowning  work  of 
an  eminent  divine,  and  standard  religious  writer.  The 
volume  is  tastefully  printed  and  bound." 


1   ""'' 


